Cape Town SAPS Officers Assault Salon Worker in Viral Video, SA Angered by Police Brutality

• Members of the South African Police Service assaulted a man living in Cape Town in a viral video
• More than three officers barged into the man’s salon and started viciously assaulting him with fists and a wooden stick
• South Africans were disgusted by the brutality and called for swift action
• Wits Universit's professor Loren Landau slammed the violence and shared his views about the video

With eight years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insight into the criminal justice system and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

Police brutality is making headlines after a video of police officers viciously assaulting a Burundi national has gone viral. The clip shows more than two members of the South African Police Service attacking the suspect with their fists and objects and suffocating him. Netizens strongly condemned the violence and were worried about the man in the video.

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Police attack man in video

The horrific video was posted on X by @VehicleTrackerz and went viral. In the clip, two police officers storm into the premises and one of them starts punching and kicking the victim, Juma Igiranieza.

Another joins the officer and starts beating him savagely with a large wooden stick. More officers come and watch on as the assault continues. The cops continue assaulting him with the bat and go as far as trying to suffocate him with plastic while punching him.

Victim accused of selling drugs

GroundUp reported that Juma, a Burundian national who works at a salon, thought that he was going to die. The assault took place on 7 November. He reportedly saw a commotion outside and when he looked through the window, he saw cops flooding the yard.

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One of them spotted him and stormed into the room where the assault began. They interrogated him and accused him of selling drugs. Click on this link to view the assault.

Wits migration expert condemns the attack

Professor Loren Landau, South African Research Chair in Mobility and the Politics of Difference: African Centre for Migration & Society at Wits University, told Briefly News that the beating demonstrates that the country is facing multiple issues.

"It demonstrates that we are not only facing violence against foreigners but a police force that feels it can use disproportionate levels of force against residents of this country. Regardless of the victim's legal status (or even his legal or illegal activities), he posed no imminent threat to the police or others. There can be no justification for such assault.

"Normalising violence against anyone– foreign or citizen– begets further violence. When such assaults are conducted by the state agents we depend on to protect us, it projects the image of a state effectively authorising violence against those we deem threatening. If– as in previous cases– there is no accountability for this action, we can only expect to see it continue or intensify."

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Mzansi condemns the violent video

Netizens were horrified by the vicious assault.

Terry said:

“Huge civil claim on the way. SAPS, now you see where a huge portion of the police budget is going.”

BG Nhlapo wrote:

“This is most brutal.”

Sanele Ayanda asked.

“This is sad. What did he do?”

Azania was angry.

“They must lose their jobs and this guy must make sure he deals with SAPS!”

PontshoAshley:

“Please tell me these policemen are to face the law.”

Residents clash with police over death of foreign national

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that residents of Johannesburg clashed with the police after the death of a foreign national.

This was after residents accused the police of beating a 28-year-old man to death during a drug raid. The premier’s office denied the claims and responded, saying that the man collapsed and died while his house was being searched. South Africans lamented the violence and weighed in on the deaths and the clashes.

Source: Briefly News