Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has called for the removal of a Cape Flats top cop amid allegations that he beat up a blind staff member.
The union, along with angry cops, on Wednesday picketed outside Elsies River Police Station against station commander Brigadier Sandile Sonjani.
According to a witness, who asked not to be named, Sonjani got into a fight with two staff members responsible for answering the phones on Tuesday afternoon and pushed Aaron Sauls, who is blind, to the ground and slammed his head against the wall.
“I was standing with my cup to go and wash it when he came shouting at me asking why I am not at my station and I told him I am here and I can hear the phones,” says the witness.
“Aaron was just dropped at the station and was smoking outside and the Brigadier shouted at him and pushed him.
Brigadier Sandile Sonjani
“He fell on the step and the brigadier hit him against the wall. He made a case against Sonjani and then left to go to hospital. He didn’t come to the protest because he is scared and the doctor put him off.”
In their memorandum, Popcru called for an investigation into Sonjani and also raised two other cases where he allegedly assaulted police staff in Philippi East and Manenberg.
Nyanga cluster commander, Major General Sizakhele Dyantyi, accepted the memorandum.
“I came because I heard of the picket so I will accept the memorandum and hand it to the provincial commissioner.”
Sonjani was not reachable.
Dyanti told the Daily Voice: “Sonjani is currently unavailable as he is at a meeting.”