Bulelani Qolani says he was dehumanised by Cape law enforcement

“My dignity was ripped apart by the City’s law enforcement officers. I was dehumanised and put to shame in front of the whole world,” said Bulelani Qolani. Picture: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

“My dignity was ripped apart by the City’s law enforcement officers. I was dehumanised and put to shame in front of the whole world,” said Bulelani Qolani. Picture: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

Published Jul 3, 2020

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Cape Town - The action of the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement officers, in which they dragged a naked man from his shack, have been roundly condemned as those responsible have been suspended.

“My dignity was ripped apart by the City’s law enforcement officers. I was dehumanised and put to shame in front of the whole world,” said Bulelani Qolani as he recounted how he felt. Bystanders took the video footage which went viral. In it, officers are seen dragging him from his shack and wrestling him to the ground.

Qolani’s shack and that of others in Empolweni, Makhaza, in Khayelitsha were being demolished by the City’s law enforcement officials.

“What will my mother and children say when they see their father dragged like an animal ready to be slaughtered. I want my dignity back?” Qolani said.

When the officers arrived, he was busy taking a bath.

Earlier on Thursday Mayor Dan Plato said, having watched the video of law enforcement officers “responding to an illegal land invasion in Khayelitsha” on Wednesday and the shameful treatment to which Qolani was subjected: “I want

to make it clear that this is not the type of conduct that we tolerate in this city”.

Plato said that was why they “immediately suspended” four officers while the matter was investigated without delay.

However, by Thursday evening in an interview with eNCA, Plato said he spent the afternoon watching footage recorded by officials. He said the footage he had seen painted a different story and said the officers had seen the man clothed at another shack before finding him next in the structure.

"Moments before our officials moved to that structure that person did have clothes on... Initially he was not in the structure, he was standing in the previous structure and moved into the structure and the officers moved in.

"When he was standing in the doorway, and I do have pictures right here in front me, he had clothes on and when the officers moved into the structure he did not have clothes on," said the mayor. 

Plato said the act of dwellers stripping themselves naked and standing naked in front of structures was "common", adding it was not the first time, nor would it be the last time such an incident happened.

Plato also accused Qholani of staging the incident.

"That person I am of the opinion it was staged act to put the City of Cape Town in a bad light," he said.

When he was quizzed about Qholani being a family-centred Christian man, Plato retorted: "People can say anything on television."

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said when the City first attempted to evict those residents, she had intervened and supported the

residents’ court process challenging their eviction.

“Upon their court victory, the City was instructed to return all material of the residents that they had confiscated and the residents were given legal authority to remain in Empolweni informal settlement,” Sisulu said.

She said all evictions required a court order, and no court would have granted an eviction order against explicit lockdown regulations.

“The City must have therefore evicted people without authority or lied to the court.”

Bonile Mbodlana, one of the

residents in the area, said they had settled on the land for at least four months now.

Mbodlana said after the incident on Wednesday, they marched to the house of mayoral committee member for human settlements Malusi Booi, and that of safety and security mayco member JP Smith to demand an account of the eviction.

“We spent our night calling for them to attend to us, but none of them availed themselves,” said Mbodlana.

The evicted community, political parties and Khayelitsha organisations yesterday accompanied Qolani to open a case against the City of Cape Town.

“My dignity was ripped apart by the City’s law enforcement officers. I was dehumanised and put to shame in front of the whole world,” said Bulelani Qolani. Picture: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana confirmed that cases of contravening the Disaster Management Act, malicious damage to property, assault and crimen injuria had been opened at the Harare police station in Khayelitsha, with no arrests made.

Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz condemned the conduct of the law enforcement officers, saying they had infringed Qolani's human dignity.

“This conduct has no place in the Western Cape and South Africa,” said Fritz.

He also welcomed the action by the City to suspend the four officers subject to further investigation and disciplinary procedures.

SA Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen said they intended to take the City to court over its eviction policy.

“There was absolutely no excuse for what happened, Qolani was stripped of all dignity when he was evicted and dragged naked from his shack,” Nissen said.

In April, the Western Cape High Court court ruled that the eviction of Empolweni residents whose homes were demolished by the City over the Easter weekend was unlawful.

The group, who were represented by the Legal Resources Centre, were allowed to return to the land and rebuild their dwellings.

Parliament’s police portfolio committee chairperson Tina Joemat-Pettersson said she had summoned the leadership of the City’s municipal police service to give an account of what transpired.

“Law enforcement officers have a mandate ‘to protect and serve’, and this mandate was undermined in this instance.

"Their actions are unacceptable and run contrary to the spirit of their work,” Joemat-Pettersson said.

SA Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen said they intended to take the City to court over its eviction policy. Video: Sisonke Mlamla/Cape Argus

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