If there is enough evidence to charge two policemen for pulling over Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, there should be enough evidence for counter-charges, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday.
“The police officers were not aware the car carried Madikizela-Mandela when they pulled it over,” the Kate Lorimer, the party’s Gauteng spokesperson for safety and security.
“Why would the car have been pulled over if it had not been doing something irregular?”
Warrant Officer Jannie Odendaal and Constable Abel Twala stopped Madikizela-Mandela’s car on the M1 highway in December last year because it was reportedly being driven recklessly at 150km/h.
An argument between the officers and the occupants of the ANC MP’s car ensued. Her bodyguards brought charges of intimidation and pointing of a firearm against the policemen.
On Tuesday, charges against the bodyguards and Madikizela-Mandela were dropped, but the policemen, who were on suspension, would be criminally charged.
Prosecutor Kholeka Gcaleka of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday that the department of public prosecutions had “enough proof” to prosecute the policemen.
Lorimer challenged the NPA to lay out all the evidence for public scrutiny if this was the case.
“If we are truly to believe there is no fault … we must see all the evidence available from both sides. Once again, it looks like a case of special treatment for members of the ANC elite.” – Sapa