It has been more than seven months since the #BlueLightMafia eight’s brutal attack on three motorists in Johannesburg and while a video of the assault and criminal charges would be enough for any employer to promptly dismiss an employee who acted like this, in the South African Police Service (SAPS) these criminals are “only” eight out of 5 489 SAPS members arrested since 2019. They are also “only” eight of the 3 981 police members who are still employed in SAPS despite serious criminal charges pending against them.
According to Ian Cameron, Director of Community Safety at Action Society, good cops are sent to their deaths, having to cope without the basic tools to do their jobs, while taxpayers are forced to fund thousands of SAPS criminals’ salaries, their legal fees and the hundreds of millions paid out in civil cases against SAPS every year.
“Whistleblowers from inside the SAPS and brave victims, like the ones from the Blue Light incident, are living in fear of their lives. Mere days before the first hearings in the disciplinary process against the #BlueLightMafia eight would commence, two witnesses in another police brutality case were gunned down outside court.”
“The reason Action Society feels so strongly about the #BlueLightMafia case is because it represents thousands of incidents of violence and corruption suffered by everyday citizen’s at the hands of corrupt police officials every day. It is a sickening trend that will continue until we can purge SAPS of the criminal syndicate running rampant in the organisation. We need to start from the top. Bheki Cele must go, followed by a mass dismissal of every criminal in SAPS.
The driver of the vehicle in the highway assault is determined to continue his pursuit for justice, despite increased pressure and the lingering effects of the initial trauma. “Unfortunately, he still fears for his safety everyday, however Action Society is taking precautionary measures to protect him and the other victims of this incident from any future harm.”
A relative of the driver said she has had enough of the postponements.
“We are tired of all these postponements and all we want is justice. But no matter what comes our way, we will continue to fight for justice,” she said.
“They must stay behind bars for the duration of this case. They should be stripped of their ranks and fired. They must carry the legal costs themselves. It is the public against them. We do not want to defend them,” concluded Cameron.
