A Khayelitsha woman is accusing a cop of pepper-spraying her, allegedly for no reason.
Harsha Viwe Jovuka, 31, says on Wednesday evening just before 7pm, she was coming from the doctor in Blue Downs Mall, and while stuck in traffic in Raymond Ackerman Road, a cop in a car wanted her to move.
“There was a traffic jam and I could not move, the driver first flicked his lights and I did not understand where he wanted me to go,” she says.
She says the cop then came to her car.
“I rolled the window down and he said move this f***en car. I asked why he is so rude and he took out a pepper spray can and sprayed me in the face.”
Harsha says she was shocked, and with red, itchy eyes and burning lips, she switched off her car and tried to ease the pain.
“I rolled down the window because I was complying with the officer, I did not know I would get abused. He laughed after doing all this and walked away.”
Harsha said it took over 30 minutes for her to regain her eyesight and she drove to Mfuleni police station to open a case.
“I always speak out against the killings of police and the bad treatment they receive from the public, but now I wish something bad would happen to them,” she says.
PEPPER-SPRAYED: Woman
Her diabetic mother Thobeka Nqambi said when she heard about the incident she got sick.
“My stress levels went up and I thought about the people who die at the hands of police,” says Thobeka.
“What if they killed her? I depend on this child for everything.”
Police spokesman Captain FC Van Wyk said a case of common assault was opened and handed over to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) for investigation.