The ICD was informed on Wednesday, 13 April 2011 about the death of Mr Andries Tatane in Ficksburg, the shocking footage of the assault and shooting of the deceased was broadcast on SABC TV News on the same day.
The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) immediately dispatched a team from the ICD Free State provincial and satellite offices to start investigating the death in line with the ICD’s mandate. This mandate stems from the Constitution as well as from chapter 10 of the SAPS Act 68 of 1995, where it says the ICD’s role is to investigate allegations of police criminality and misconduct. The ICD operates independently from the SAPS and it has its own budget and investigators who are not part of the SAPS.
Police brutality cannot be tolerated in a Constitutional democrary. Policing in 2011 should be totally different from the apartheid past that we come from. Police officers should uphold the rule of law and not be the ones accused of breaking it.
Yesterday, I had a chance to visit the Tatane family and express our condolensces. I also spoke to the investigation team which was expanded by bringing in additional investigators from our Northern Cape provincial office. It was made clear to the investigators that the investigation should be thorough yet swift.
After I left Ficksburg, the investigation team continued the investigation by interviewing suspect officers and their commanders. The suspects were identified with the assistance of witnesses.
As a result, on 16 April 2011 the ICD arrested six (6) suspects - two of them on murder charges, and four (4) on assault GBH charges. The suspects are currently in custody since their detention last night and they will appear at the Ficksburg Magistrates Court tomorrow, on 18 April 2011.
For enquiries:
Moses Dlamini
Cell: 082 809 1927
