Ipid finding on use of water cannon under fire

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has found no misconduct by the SAPS when a water cannon was used on a crowd of social grant recipients queueing outside the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) in Bellville earlier this year.

In the report, seen by Groundup, Ipid said that “there were no lesser interventions at the disposal of SAPS” to disperse a crowd refusing to move and that no complaints were received of injuries from the incident. It said the water was specifically sprayed in the air and not directly at people and only for a short time.

But the Western Cape legislature’s standing committee on social development has requested that SAPS and Ipid be called to account for what it believes is a “disgraceful” report which “exonerates all involved in water-bombing vulnerable Sassa clients”.

On 15 January, the police were called to help with crowd control as hundreds of people were queuing outside Sassa in Bellville to renew their temporary disability grants.

SAPS then called in the public order police to help, who decided to use a water cannon to control the crowd.

In February, provincial community safety MEC Albert Fritz asked Ipid to urgently investigate the incident.

The incident also coincided with a visit from social development minister Lindiwe Zulu, who on the day said that “the situation was really getting out of hand and people were refusing to social distance and queue”.

According to Ipid’s report, Sassa officials initially sought assistance from law enforcement due to their inability to control the crowd as people were not co-operating with Sassa staff and security.

Abigail Peters, a Black Sash paralegal fieldworker, was told by a beneficiary who was queueing on that day that there were grant beneficiaries who still queued even after being drenched in water.

In a recent statement, Fritz expressed disappointment with Ipid’s investigation and said someone must be held accountable.

Similarly, Gillion Bosman, chair of the social development committee, has requested the matter be tabled at the next briefing with the SAPS and that Ipid be present.