Urban vigilantes
White male gang targets blacks, roughs them up
‘HE TOOK the bottle of petrol out of my hand and began pouring it all over me. He then asked his friends for a light. They were going to set me alight …”
That was the account of a man who was stopped by an apparent vigilante group targeting black men on the Bluff.
Reports have surfaced of a group of four white men assaulting black men seen in the area. They allegedly accuse their victims of stealing and lay charges at the Brighton Beach police station.
The man, who declined to be named, said he had run out of petrol along Bluff Road earlier this year. He parked his car on the side of the road and, with his girlfriend, walked to the nearby petrol station.
“We flagged down a passing police van and they dropped us off at the petrol station not far from where we had broken down,” he said.
After buying the petrol, which they carried in a bottle, they walked back to his car.
“As we got closer, I saw a car parked behind mine and a group of men standing nearby. I told my girlfriend we should walk on the other side of the road. One of the men asked me who I was and what I was doing there,” he said.
He told the men that he had broken down. He explained that they had gone to buy petrol for the car.
“I did not like that they were asking why I was there. I am a black man in South Africa; you cannot just ask me where I am going. I was doing nothing wrong. One of the men, a very tall man, began hitting and kicking me. I fell back into a ditch.
“My girlfriend pleaded with me to stop answering them but they kept asking me questions. I had a size 12 shoe kicking me. It was painful.
“Every time I tried to get up, he kicked me back down. I lost consciousness and, when I came to, the man took the petrol and asked his friends for a light. No one gave him a light, despite me seeing someone smoking when we were approaching them.”
The man called the group cowards, asking why were they attacking him. His girlfriend was allegedly searched by one of the men.
The four men got into their car after one received a phone call and drove away.
Ordeal
The victim said when he went to Brighton police station to report his ordeal, he was told they would not open a case.
“I was told one of the attackers was a former policeman or that his wife was a police officer and nothing would come of the case.”
In another interview with the Daily News, two men recalled how they were stopped and attacked by a group of four white men.
They said they had spent the afternoon visiting a friend at his cottage in Brighton Beach.
“Later that evening, when driving home, we noticed a car following us. The car did not have its lights on but, as we were passing street lights, we could see we were being followed. After some distance, the car put on a blue light and stopped us.
“We got out, thinking it was the police. Four men got out of the car and accused us of stealing boat motors. We told them we did not know what they were talking about,” a victim said.
He said the men started assaulting them. One of the men apparently sprayed them with pepper spray.
“Afterwards they took us to the police station. I am a mechanic and they found a tool box in my car. They charged us with attempted theft and possession of housebreaking implements.
“We sat in the holding cells from the time of the incident, Thursday, until Monday. When we went to court, we were told we did not have to appear because the charges were withdrawn.”
A well-placed source revealed that a number of similar incidents had been reported, but cases were not opened.
“They are also allegedly stopping black foreign nationals and demanding to see their work visas or permits,” the source said.
It was further revealed that black police officers were accused of neglecting their duties if they arranged medical attention for injured “suspects” rather that taking them straight to the cells.
“The police officer would call for an ambulance and refuse to take the victim and that member would have a complaint laid against them by the gang,” the source said.
However, according to Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane, provincial police spokesperson, they have not received complaints from the station.
“No cases have been opened so far and we are appealing to the affected people to come forward and open cases so that the matter can be fully investigated.”
Edwin Mkhize, Cosatu provincial secretary, said the union was aware of the complaints and had engaged with the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) and station management.
Nthabileng Molefe, of Popcru, said there have been discussions with station management and they were unhappy with recommendations made after a study by officials from the Department of Labour.
The Daily News approached the group allegedly responsible for these attacks, but they did not comment by the time of publication.