Cape Town – The ANC said the eviction of the naked man, who was taking a bath in his Khayelitsha shack when the law enforcement officers pounced, was “barbaric and against the spirit of our democracy”.
“They acted illegally because they did not have a court or a warrant. This man is shattered. We condemn this inhumane and barbaric action,” the ANC’s Xolani Sotashe said, adding the party was demanding urgent answers from the Cape Town City Council.
A video of the incident went viral on social media on Wednesday.
Meanwhile the council, which is run by the DA, said it was in the process of suspending those involved in the debacle pending further investigation and disciplinary procedures.
“We are saddened by the conduct depicted on the video footage, and we do not condone any forceful and dehumanising conduct by our staff members,’ the city’s executive director for safety and security Richard Bosman said.
The council said the land on which the dwelling was situated belonged to the City, which had conducted various operations to prevent illegal occupation. After the removal of illegal structures, new attempts were made to invade again on a daily basis, it added.
There have been several reports of brutality recently by law enforcement officers during a lockdown imposed by the government under the state of national disaster in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to try and contain the virus.
Last month, the South African National Defence Force said it condemned acts of violence after a video clip surfaced of an unidentified man dressed in army fatigues assaulting a woman.
In April, Collins Khosa, a resident of Johannesburg’s Alexandra township, died at the hands of soldiers and metro police after a severe beating for allegedly breaking lockdown rules.
An internal report into the incident by the military appeared to exonerate those implicated in Khosa’s death, sparking nationwide outrage.
African News Agency/ANA
