The chairperson of the Young Communist League (YCL), David Masondo, has appeared in court for allegedly assaulting police at a Johannesburg road block, a spokesperson said on Friday.
Constable Neria Malefetse said he appeared in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and was charged with assault and interference with police duty before being released on bail.
Malefetse said a date for his next appearance had not yet been set.
Masondo was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly refusing to be searched when police stopped him while he was jogging in Sandringham. Masondo then allegedly assaulted the police.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has said it would lay complaints with the Independent Complaints Directorate and the South African Human Rights Commission, saying the chairperson of their youth wing was treated ”appallingly” by police.
SACP spokesperson Malesela Maleka said he was denied medical attention when he was bruised and bleeding after the police allegedly assaulted him.
”It is precisely [because of] this lack of respect of human rights in our policing system that we need to transform.
”It cannot be that our young people cannot walk the streets freely without the fear of being mistaken for criminals and victimised for their darker skin,” he said. — Sapa