The eight suspects who are a part of the VIP protection team of the deputy president Paul Mashatile have handed themselves over to the Sandton police station on Sunday afternoon.
This after the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) announced that it will be effecting arrest on the group on Sunday morning.
Speaking to Sunday World, Ipid national spokesperson Robbie Raburabu confirmed that the suspects will sleep behind bars for processing, before they make their first court appearance at the Randburg magistrate’s court on Monday.
“We can now confirm that the eight men who are the prime suspects on the matter have handed themselves over to the police and they will be spending the night there,” he said.
“They are all facing three charges which include assault, malicious damage to property and pointing of firearms. They will make their first court appearance tomorrow at Randburg magistrate’s court,” said Raburabu.
A civil rights organisation, Action Society has called on the court to deny bail in this case, as the suspects are a clear threat to public safety.
Ian Cameron, director of community safety at Action Society, said members of the public will never feel safe to stop for the police after this incident.
“As a society, confidence in the police is at an all time low. Ipid, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority need to stop treating these criminals like VIP’s and start treating them like the criminals they are. Denying bail is the right thing to do.”
The eight men are now behind bars after they were captured in a video footage beating and kicking two occupants of a vehicle on the N1 highway near Fourways, Johannesburg early this month.
The video footage, showing the men who were armed to the teeth with semi-assault rifles assaulting the motorists, was filmed by another motorist.
It showed the eight men pulling the victims out a of a VW polo before kicking them to the ground.
Through his communications team, Mashatile, who has been in the news a lot lately for his love life, released a statement saying he has full confidence in the SAPS under the leadership of Police Minister Bheki Cele and the command of Police Commissioner General Masemola to do the right thing on the case.
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