Questions around Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s involvement in the blue light assault of three people on the N1 highway have arisen again, after one of the eight SAPS VIP presidential protection officers told the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Monday that the principal had been part of the convoy when the incident happened.
The DA said it would submit a formal Promotion of Access to Information Application (PAIA) to get answers around the incident, while the ActionSA said it would be writing to police commissioner General Fannie Masemola to investigate Mashatile for allegedly lying, after his office said he was not present when the incident happened.
One of the eight VIP officers, Shadrack Molekatlane Kojana, took the stand on Monday and told the court that Mashatile was present in the Waterfall Equestrian Estate bound convoy when he alleged the blue VW Polo which the victims had been travelling in, tried to push them off the road.
DA MP and spokesperson on policing, Andrew Whitfield, said they had always suspected that Mashatile was involved because of the behaviour of the VIP officers.
Whitfield, while speaking to the SABC News on Tuesday, said Mashatile had to be held accountable politically and legally.
He said there was a pervasive culture of impunity in the police service, which had been allowed to proliferate by politicians, like Mashatile.
“If he was in the convoy and he sat by and did nothing, he sets an example at one of the highest level of government which is completely unacceptable.
“He holds the second highest office in the land and may become president one day, but he allows police officers to break the law under his watch, it is completely unacceptable.
“He is clearly not fit for the office he holds,” said Whitfield.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said it believed the officers had been influenced by Mashatile’s “mafia style leadership” and that if he had nothing to hide, why Mashatile had lied and said he was not present.
“ActionSA has long believed that the VIP unit officials were influenced by Mashatile’s mafia-style leadership to respond heavy-handedly against the three South Africans.
“Mashatile already faces a number of serious unethical conduct including living a life of luxury in expensive homes – owned by businesspeople who are alleged to have benefitted from state contracts – and the Deputy President lying about his involvement in the assault further proves that he cannot be trusted,” said Mashaba.
Mashaba said the ActionSA would work tirelessly to ensure the matter was treated with the seriousness it deserves and that police officers were held responsible for the brutality inflicted on ordinary South Africans.
Currently, the eight officers are facing criminal prosecution in the Randburg Magistrate's Court after the police watchdog Ipid ordered their arrests.
Internally at the SAPS, they have been suspended, pending an internal disciplinary process.
It has not immediately become clear whether Mashatile was a witness to the alleged assault, or whether he drove off with vehicles in the convoy.
Kojana told the court he removed one of the three men from their vehicle, but denied that officers had assaulted the three men, who were off duty SANDF members.
He said the blue VW Polo had posed a threat and that they had not assaulted the three men, but they had taken control of the situation after the small hatchback tried to allegedly bump the main car they were protecting.
Video footage of the incident showed the three men being violently wrestled to the ground and one of them appeared to be violently kicked in the head.
It showed the VIP officers travelling in BMW X5 SUVs with police registration. All officers who alighted from two vehicles, appeared to sit in the front and back seats of the two cars as they left the scene in a hurry.
The accused VIP officers are Kojana, Johannes Matome Mampuru, Pomso Joseph Mofokeng, Harmans Madumetja Ramokhonami, Phineas Molefo Boshielo, Churchill Mpakameseni Mkhize, Lesibana Aggrie Rambau and Moses Fhatuwani
The court heard from State prosecutor Elize Le Roux that they were opposing bail for the eight accused and that they acted in unison.
One accused, Rambau, did not leave her car, but was being charged as she failed to stop the alleged assault.
The State said the violent manner in which the accused conducted themselves merited them being kept in police custody.
The court case resumes on Wednesday.
IOL