South African Police Service
Harassment at the hands of the SAPS

8/06/13 -my mother and I were travelling in Yoeville with a friend of mine and her brother when we were stopped by two officers of the law. They then asked for our 'Papers" I advised them that I have my license which has my SA I.D. number on it. They did not want that, insisting that I should have my passport and papers with me as I am definitely from Zimbabwe us where our papers were. The male officer proceeded to drag me by the arm as I refused to enter the van like I am some sort of criminal. In the Zulu Cultural belief, being placed in the back of a police van like some sort of criminal is a bad omen. But eventually I went into the van as both my mother and younger sister were becoming distressed. They kept the three of us in the van and asked my mother stupid questions about the names of body parts and their names in Zulu, questions which she answered without even thinking twice (questions that I would not have known the answers to by the way). They eventually told my mother to bribe us out of there. I fail to understand how this can be done, when they continue to accept bribes from illegal immigrants and harass citizens and legal immigrants of the country.

Appalled!

Company: South African Police Service
Country: South Africa
City: Yoeville, Johannesburg

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