A group of ANC North West delegates claim they were detained and beaten by police
The police on Wednesday claimed the people were suspected of having dangerous weapons.
The group of people, who claimed they were ANC members from North West and supporters of Kgalema Motlanthe, said their accreditation had been taken away and given to others. They have laid charges of assault, intimidation and harassment with the police in Bloemfontein.
They said a house they had rented in the Uitsig suburb in Bloemfontein was raided by the police. They were still in shock and afraid when the Mail & Guardian arrived about an hour after the incident.
They said a group of policemen and women had stormed into the house, slapped some of them and tied up others with cable ties before searching the house, allegedly for “dangerous weapons” about which a tip-off had been received.
Itumeleng Mokgweetsi, from Mahikeng, said he went to investigate a noise outside the house when he was confronted by police pointing guns at him. “I was pointed [at] with guns and slapped so as to force me back into the house.”
He said everyone was searched but nothing was found. However, the police tied up the men with cable ties all the same. The women were made to sit on the ground facing a wall with strict instructions not to look left or right.
A door to the main bedroom was smashed, apparently with a police firearm, and a window in the room was broken.
Raids blamed on internal politics
Motshidisi Ramotlatsi, a provincial executive committee member of the ANC Youth League in North West, blamed the raids on ANC internal politics. Ramotlatsi is part of a group who campaigned for a change in the party’s leadership.
She said the raids were related to politics because a premier had threatened on the Saturday before to ensure that North West ANC members who took the party to court would be dealt with.
Forcy Moalusi, who was also in the house, said a white policeman told them during the raid: “Julle sê julle soek change, nê?” (“You say you are looking for change, hey?”)
Ramotlatsi and a friend known only as Lerato were sleeping when policemen stormed into their bedroom. One pointed a gun at Ramotlatsi and threatened to shoot. “They woke us up and demanded that we lie flat on the floor. The house was searched with dogs and one policeman even went into the ceiling for a physical search.”
Mokgweetsi said once their hands had been tied, they were made to lie on their stomachs on the pavement outside. “Their boots were on our backs most of the time.”
The police left without finding anything in the house or on the 21 people they searched.
Earlier on Wednesday, before the raid, four police cars stopped the group’s bus while it was travelling into the city to drop off some of their comrades at a taxi rank.
IDs and phones seized
Puso Matebesi, who was on the bus, said the police surrounded the trailer behind the bus with dogs and searched the bus. “They threw our stuff out of bags on to the ground. They said they suspected something and that there’s something that they know we’re doing.”
During the raid the police took all the travellers’ ID documents and cellphone numbers, according to Matebesi. “They said they’re coming to the house and they want Motshidisi.”
A police car escorted the bus into the city. “On our way back we saw the remaining three police cars driving back from the house,” Matebesi said.
“If the police had a valid search warrant, it means it’s a lawful document and so they must treat people with respect, but they didn’t. It can only mean there’s a political person behind this.”
The M&G saw a copy of the search warrant issued for the raid by a magistrate’s court. It stated that the police needed to search for “unlicensed firearms and ammunition”. The warrant was issued on the same day on which the search was conducted.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said the ANC knew nothing about the raid.
“I can’t comment on that. I’m as ignorant as I am. I haven’t even heard from the police.”
The police had not responded to questions at the time of going to press.