Laudium police are being accused of protecting criminals rather than citizens Photo Upi
Laudium – A day after they were arrested on March 15, Councillor Naeem Patel and two Community Police Forum members (CPF) were released on R1 000 bail each. They were arrested on charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and theft. While police are supposed to protect a community, Patel believes they are not serving the public and these charges are proof of that.
In the early hours of March 12, while patrolling with local CPF members, Patel received a message on a group chat that a meter box had been stolen. On reaching the area and doing a search, a white man, by the name of “JP”, was found to have the meter box with him.
“When he was approached he said that he worked for one of the security companies. I then contacted the security company and we were told they know him but he doesn’t work for them. He then changed his story to say he works for one of the Muslim men up the road … He then got up and we found a meter with him. We then searched the area and found a second meter a few houses up at the church.”
The community were extremely upset and attempted to take matters into their own hands. On seeing this, Patel and the leadership of the CPF urged citizens to refrain from delivering mob justice. They then took JP to the Laudium Civic Centre as the police station was closed due to loadshedding.
Second hand scrap dealers and the role they play in enabling crime
It was at the Civic Centre that JP came clean about his involvement, telling Patel and the CPF members that he stole the meters to help feed his family and his drug addiction. In the morning, JP took them to a ditch behind the old railway line on Military Road where a further 16 meter boxes were found.
Patel then asked JP to produce the other 25 meters that were stolen only to learn that those had already been sold to a second hand scrap dealer. JP showed them how he breaks the box open using pliers to get the two blocks of copper in it and strips the wires which earns him R100.
“These second hand scrap dealers get licences to operate from SAPS. This is the one licence SAPS is allowed to give. This specific dealer that he spoke about, the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department together with other departments went to the house and fined her. They also tried to close her down but SAPS intervened. They didn’t want this specific dealer to be closed. We need to have all these dealers closed because it makes it easy for a person to steal infrastructure and have an outlet to quickly sell it off and make money for their drug habit.”
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Laudium police and the charges
After the 16 meter boxes were recovered, JP was handed over to the police on 12 March in the afternoon. However, he was soon released by the police and it was only after they were pressured by the CPF did the police arrest him and charge him on Monday, 13 March. According to Patel, JP has been arrested multiple times including the time when Patel and security companies caught him stealing brass in December. “This is a pattern where criminals are caught and they are let go,” said Patel.
On Wednesday JP opened a case against someone who works for Patel. On arriving at the police station, JP allegedly changed his story and said that Patel and the two CPF members with him, pointed a gun at him and beat him up.
“Immediately, without even asking us anything, the police took us in. They then took us in and detained us. They did not charge us … We were denied the right to pray Maghrib salaah. We were denied the right to a lawyer. We were then put in a police van and only after the community made the police aware that it’s illegal to put us into a van because we’re not arrested, did they then take us out and put us back into the detainee area.”
They were then taken to Atteridgeville police station at around 12pm and were charged. According to Patel, before being taken to Atteridgeville, JP told the CPF members he was told to open a case against them. When he wanted to withdraw the charges but he was not allowed to do so.
“He went into the police station, in front of us he said to the police ‘I want to withdraw the charges’. The police said don’t withdraw those charges. They put him in their vehicle and took the docket and went away.”
A petition has been started by the community to have the police station revamped, the station commander to be removed and second hand dealers to be closed. Patel is hopeful the charges will be thrown out as they are just “drummed up charges”.
At the time of publishing the Laudium police station could not be reached for a comment.
To hear what Councillor Naeem Patel has to say about the case and other problems of the community, listen to the podcast here:
