Acting Gauteng Police Commissioner, Major General Tommy Mthombeni, has ordered an urgent investigation into a disturbing video clip circulating on social media of officers allegedly arresting a learner in Krugersdorp.
A short video posted on Twitter on Thursday depicts police members manhandling a girl child in uniform.
In a statement, Gauteng South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kwanza said Mthombeni had subsequently sanctioned an urgent departmental investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The incident all allegedly happened in the streets of Krugersdorp on Tuesday.
“At this stage, it has been established that the 18-year old female learner was indeed taken to the Krugersdorp police station and subsequently released on the same day, unharmed, into the care of her mother.
“To this end, the members captured on the video have been identified and the departmental investigation is underway. We can confirm that the vehicle captured on the video is a state vehicle and that the members were on duty conducting routine patrols at the time of the incident.”
Kwanza said measures that will be taken, will be guided by the outcome of the investigation.
Mthombeni had reaffirmed the SAPS zero-tolerance approach to gender based violence and hence the call for the departmental investigation to be treated with the necessary sensitivity and urgency.
Source: South African Government News Agency