Pubdate: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 Source: Cape Times (South Africa) Copyright: 2008 Cape Times Contact: http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=3232 Website: http://www.capetimes.co.za/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2938 Author: Karen Breytenbach STORM OVER STELLENBOSCH 'POLICE BRUTALITY' GROWS While the students and nightclub owners who were allegedly manhandled and assaulted by the police during raids in Stellenbosch on Friday night prepared to take joint action against the police on Monday, the MEC for Community Safety has called on the provincial police commissioner's office and the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) to investigate the raids. The management of Bohemia, Die Mystic Boer and Springbok Pub were compiling statements from traumatised customers which they would submit to their lawyer for a civil and criminal case against the police. The campus radio station MFM also encouraged students caught up in the raids to make statements. At the time of the raids, after midnight, Bohemia and Die Mystic Boer each had about 250 customers and Springbok about 800. Springbok Pub owner Julian Vermeer said he saw how customers were slapped, punched and sprayed with mace by about 30 officers, while the women had their bras searched for drugs in a separate room. He himself was pushed to the ground. George de Beer of Honey Attorneys said he was consulting with several students and their parents and expected to have about 200 statements by the end of the week. Among those was a traumatised 25-year-old female student who was allegedly sexually assaulted by police officers in Bohemia's office. De Beer said independent witnesses who heard her screaming and begging the police to stop molesting her have come forward. The DA's Lennit Max, former police commissioner of the Western Cape, condemned the raids "in the strongest possible terms" and compared them to similar raids in Lavender Hill and Hawston. Max called on Community Safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane and provincial Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros to set up a commission of inquiry into complaints of police brutality. He also called on the provincial legislature's committee on community safety, an oversight body, to hold public hearings on the matter. He said reports indicated a 43 percent increase in police brutality from January to June 2007. "It seems that the police are currently seeking out 'soft targets' while the 'hard targets' like gang members and tikdealers are running rampant on the streets of our communities," Max said. The University of Stellenbosch also condemned the "harsh treatment" of students and members of the public, "evident from photos and video clips", and called on Stellenbosch police station head Dirk Mentoor to let the ICD investigate the matter without interference. But Novela Potelwa, Petros's spokesperson, told the Cape Times on Monday that the provincial office had received no complaints and therefore Mentoor, who had received four complaints from students, would be in charge of the investigation into his officers' conduct. Asked if a more independent investigation should not be launched, she said: "We need to allow this process to unfold." Potelwa said the local Community Policing Forum had received several complaints about drug dealing at Stellenbosch nightclubs and the police were obliged to investigate. Only a small quantity of cannabis and 3g of hashish was found at the clubs. Mentoor on Monday told e.tv that the raids were conducted according to "standard procedure". University spokesperson Mohamed Shaikh said university was committed to good relations between the university community and the SA Police Service and he hoped to arrange "high-level talks as soon as possible" to discuss the raids and ways to mend any strained relations. Meanwhile Mentoor, other Stellenbosch police officers, representatives from the Stellenbosch town council and the university's SRC met on Monday to discuss the situation. Concerned parents and members of the public also contacted the media to share their shock and disgust. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek