A civil rights activist who was shouted down by Police Minister Bheki Cele during a public meeting and then skopped out of the hall by cops says he will be laying charges against them.
Lobby group Action Society has accused Cele of abusing his power, adding they will lay a charge with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), this after a meeting descended into chaos in Gugulethu on Tuesday.
Videos of Cele screaming at Action Society director Ian Cameron to shut up went viral.
The heavy-handed tactics came after Cameron slammed the police ministry for failing Gugulethu residents and the Western Cape.
More than 30 community safety structures, CPF and neighbourhood watch teams were invited to engage the police ministry on how it could better support them and address rampant extortion rings, cable theft and gender-based violence in their areas.
Cele’s main points throughout the engagement focused on the whole of society’s approach to combating crime, and called on communities to assist SAPS.
“When we talk about solving crime, we can’t unfortunately only look at police. We need to be able to count on communities that are on the ground,” Cele said.
Cameron said he had attended the meeting on behalf of GBV victims who mandated his organisation to speak on their behalf.
During his speech, he berated Cele for misusing police resources, under-resourcing the province and not crediting work done by NHWs.
He also tackled Cele for speaking against the request by the Western Cape government to take charge of policing.
He said the family of a woman who was killed on 8 May in Khayelitsha asked the Action Society for assistance.
“She was stabbed 100 metres from where six other people were shot five minutes earlier. No one followed up that case, we did, because her sister asked us to help.
“Do you know where we found the suspect? In the Eastern Cape, we brought him back, he is now being detained in Khayelitsha.
We do that because we care for the community, we patrol for them, we give them training, I don’t see you doing the same sir, and I’m tired of the excuses and I'm tired of you making this a political thing.
“None of these people tonight when they see their neighbours being slaughtered on the streets worry about your nonsense comments about the constitution and about devolution, they worry about surviving sir,” he said to loud applause.
He then invited Cele to join their patrols without “a bodyguard or grand car” and get sewage on his shoes like the patrollers do.
“You have a problem Mr Minister because you are removed from the reality that the rest of us face.”
Rising from his chair, an angry Cele lashed out: “Don’t tell me about the safety of my people, I fought for it, I nearly died for it, I was arrested for it, I was exiled for it.
“That‘s why I was sent to Robben Island, that’s why I ate bad food because I was fighting for human rights. Shut up! Shut up!”
When Cameron tried to respond, Cele told him to sit down and listen or get out.
He refused and was then escorted from the hall by cops.
Outside he was dragged by his jacket and asked cops to get his notebook.
Cameron said on Wednesday he will be lodging a criminal case against the cops and Cele for “physically accosting him”.