KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Mrs Nonhlanhla Khoza, has condemned an incident in which two teenage boys were allegedly assaulted severely by an eThekwini Metro Police officer, accusing them of stealing from his house located in Savanna Park, west of Durban.
It is alleged that the officer pointed his service pistol at the boys and forced them to admit that they had broken into his home on Saturday, before forcing them to drink petrol.
The boys who are victims of the incident are aged 13 and 16 with special needs and are pupils at Ningizimu Special School.
The boys sustained injuries‚ with one having to be rushed to the hospital to receive medical attention.
Reacting to the incident, MEC Khoza said: “We are alarmed and quite frankly‚ disgusted by this incident. It is very shocking that an officer of the law will point a firearm at children and force them to admit to having broken into his home. We will not tolerate any form of behaviour that threatens the safety and wellbeing of children. It also worsens the situation that nothing was found from these vulnerable children. We are really taken aback by these allegations involving police officers who are supposed to be custodians of the law.”
MEC Khoza said no one had a right to abuse children. She vowed not to leave this matter unattended.
“No police officer has a right to take the law into their own hands. How does a person get the audacity to point a firearm at children and force them to drink petrol? We will be engaging with the Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda and MEC for Community Safety and Liaison, Mrs Peggy Nkonyeni, to ensure that these allegations are investigated,” she added.
“For someone to allegedly violate children’s rights in this manner really flies in the face of all of our efforts as government to protect children and all vulnerable groups.”