WATCH: The police altercation that led to the EFF opening intimidation charges against Durban cop
Video footage has emerged of a police officer involved in a verbal altercation with EFF and Fees Must Fall student leader Bonginkosi Khanyile which led to charges being opened.
The footage — sent to TimesLIVE by student activists on Wednesday — shows a heated argument between Khanyile and the officer. Khanyile is seated at a table in a Berea‚ Durban‚ restaurant‚ with the officer standing overhead.
Khanyile registered a case of intimidation against the senior police official in Durban. An uncharacteristically stoic Khanyile‚ flanked by two of his lieutenants‚ sauntered into the Berea Police Station to open the charge — but they were quickly shifted to the Umbilo Police Station because it was in that jurisdiction that the alleged crime took place.
“We are disgusted‚ taken aback‚ gobsmacked and flabbergasted by the actions of the Colonel by threatening and intimidating our member. The encounter took place today in a restaurant at Berea Centre where the Colonel approached Khanyile making unprecedented number of statements including threatening to assault and ensuring he goes back to prison‚” they earlier said in a statement.
EFF Student Command provincial chair Gazuzu Nduli confirmed that they had registered a case and had been allotted a case number. He said that he was hopeful that the law would take its course and that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.
“We will take this as far as possible and we’ll consult with our attorneys on how to best do this. We would like to register our dissatisfaction on how this police officer conducted himself‚” Nduli said.
“We want to send a clear message to all police officers that we are no longer in apartheid where police officers can victimise activists. He must face the music for his actions.”