Members of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) marched to the headquarters of the National Police Commissioner in Tshwane on Tuesday, this in line with the union’s “Restore Dignity Campaign” which aims at eradicating the apparently rampant acts of sexual abuse and gender based violence that are taking place within the criminal and justice cluster in the country.
According to POPCRU’s Spokesperson Richard Mamabolo Tuesday’s protest march was sparked by reports suggesting that a trainee woman police officer was raped by a Captain of the SAPS at the Police Academy in Pretoria West some two months ago. “Since this particular rape incident was reported we have been getting lots of anonymous calls from various members of our union across the country reporting that they too had been subjected to rape and gender based violence at their places of work and that their cases have disappeared into thin ear and that they have since been victim used by the powers that be for reporting such cases while others are scared to report these cases of abuse for fear of losing their jobs,” said Mamabolo.
“So we are of the opinion that this protest march would be the best platform to confront the said issues, about which we have compiled a memorandum of demands that we have presented to the office of the National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola.
Some of POPCRU’s demands are as follows:
1.A clear and open vetting system of people who want to join either the SAPS or the Department of Correctional Services.
2. Direct 24 hour call line whereby the union’s members can report their challenges anonymously.
3. Quarterly reports from SAPS divulging the number of sexual abuse cases reported by police officers as well as how many of such cases have been resolved so that a proper follow-up can be conducted by the union.
4.Victim-friendly areas designed specifically for those who want to report cases of abuse.
Mamabolo lamented the fact that since a certain divisional commissioner Major General Zulu was appointed as head of training many things have gone terribly wrong.
“Many of the allegations of rape and sexual abuse that have happened under her leadership have not been resolved,” he said.
“Our message to National Commissioner Fannie Masemola is that she must remove Major General Zulu as head of training in the SAPS,” said Mamabolo enthusiastically.
“To all our members who are already working as police officers and those who are still at police training colleges we are saying that as POPCRU victimisation is not going to happen under our watch and we have marched here today to gather support for the Restore Dignity Campaign countrywide because working conditions are appealing, particularly at colleges,” said POPCRU’S Second Deputy General Secretary Boitumelo Pheleng.
“We can’t use our young people who innocently applied for employment in the SAPS to advance our sexual urges and if any form of sexual harassment is perpetrated by our members then as POPCRU we must be the first ones to kick such perpetrators out of our ranks,” he said.
“We condemn the rape incident that happened at the Pretoria West Police Academy and many police officers have now revealed incidents of sexual harassment that they were subjected to at the time they were still trainee officers at various police academies countrywide,” said POPCRU’s Gauteng Provincial chairperson Tinti Mosenga.
South African Communist Party official Donald Mothoa told the marching police officers that ill-discipline will not be tolerated among SAPS members and urged those that have been sexually harassed to come forward and speak out about their plight.
“Let’s make sure that every woman is safe in the police service and once the police speak out about sexual harassment then our communities will be safe because if police officers themselves are sexually harassed then it means our society at large is in danger, so we must call out by name those among us who perpetrate acts of sexual harassment and also join hands with all affiliates of POPCRU and unite against GBV and all forms of harassment,” he said.
General Lineo Nkhuoa acting Deputy National Commissioner Corporate Service
sign and received the memorandum.
Copy of Memorandum of POPCRU:
Final Draft POPCRU Memorandum of Demands to the SAPS
General Lineo Nkhuoa acting Deputy National Commissioner Corporate Service speech: