A trip to Durban for a group of Soweto children this week was meant to be the realisation of a dream, but instead it turned into a nightmare. The trip was sponsored by American actor and comedian Chris Tucker and the US National Basketball Association (NBA).The children had been taken to Durban for a sea-and-sun holiday by the Ithuteng Trust, which assists young people by offering them life skills and education. The trust cares for about 1 000 children some of whom have been sexually molested, orphaned or affected by HIV/Aids. Most of them have never seen the sea before. The trust is run by Jackey Maarohanye, who has been honoured for her heroic fight against woman and child abuse. In June she accepted the equivalent of R7-million from American talkshow superstar Oprah Winfrey on behalf of the trust.
On Wednesday, four were nearly raped by a gang of boys and two were stabbed â and when they turned to the police for help, the officers allegedly beat and teargassed them, and one of the children was run over by a vehicle driven by a metro police officer. Maarohanye claimed she was assaulted when she tried to explain to a policeman that the boys wanted to rape her girls.
âI screamed at them and saw one boy stab one of my girls. There were police there and some security people in yellow uniform, but they did nothing, even after I asked the police to take the girl to hospital. My pupils ran after the suspects and managed to bring one back. In the meantime one of my boys carried the girl to Addington Hospital. By the time my students came back, the police had gathered with teargas and were spraying my pupils. The police had asked the children what they knew about handing over a suspect when they were just BaSothokazi (a derogatory term for Sotho people) from Egoli,â said Maarohanye. âThey started beating them and banging their heads against walls. I told them I was the principal and my students were trying to give them the suspect, but they ignored me. A police van ran over one of my boys and broke his leg, and they left him there,â she added. The pupils vomited for hours after the teargas attack and five were hospitalised.
After failing to get any assistance at the Point police station, Maarohanye contacted KZN Premier Sâbu Ndebeleâs office, where she was referred to the head of the Department of Community Safety and Liaison, Jasmine Bacus. Bacus, who is away on business in India, managed the situation from abroad.
The acting head of Durbanâs metro police, Titus Malaza, said: âOur head of department has requested the officers who were on duty to forward statements to the investigating officer at the Independent Complaints Directorate Once the ICD investigation is done, they will advise us on the findings and we will take the necessary steps.â
A case of assault has been opened against the girlsâ attacker and against the police officer who allegedly ran over 17-year-old Phineas Botsane. Phineas said he had been very excited about the Durban trip but now âI donât want to go back there againâ.
âThe police in Durban donât like us because we are from Johannesburg and speak Sesotho and not isiZulu. They wanted to let the suspect go because he is a local guy. The worst part was when they beat our âmotherâ, who we love,â he said.
Allegations of police brutality are being investigated by the KwaZulu Natal Department of Community Safety and Liaison and the ICD.
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