Cop threatens protesters

2010-02-08 16:30

Johannesburg - Protesters demonstrating against the murder of an Egyptian hawker on Monday said they were threatened outside the court by a family member of the accused, himself a police officer.

"There was a struggle [outside the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court]. One of the fathers of the accused is a police captain. He said: 'I'll fucking shoot all of you'," said Arab Association's Union convenor Ahmed Habiballah. "He showed that he had a gun."

Habiballah said the man did not take the gun from beneath his shirt, but placed his hand on it, revealing a bulge. He said the organisation would file a complaint of intimidation with police.

Screaming

One of the victim's fellow hawkers then began screaming at the man: "Shoot me. Shoot me."

The hawker was restrained by the other protesters.

The protesters were at court for the appearance of Aniel Roolaraj, Mandla Nkambule, Ebrahim Janoo and Wesley Anderson who are accused of the murder and robbery of 32-year-old Egyptian Nabil Hasaballa, who was a hawker at Bruma Lake.

Two of the accused are police officers. One is an inspector attached to the Germiston Flying Squad and the other is a constable at Nigel.

Hasaballa was attacked while leaving his shop on Thursday.

"We are conflicted. Was he shot because he was a foreigner?" asked Habiballah, who was among about 40 protesters outside the court.

The protesters consisted of members of Johannesburg's Arab community and Hasaballa's fellow hawkers at Bruma Lake.

'A licence to kill'

They carried banners reading: "Police, licence to kill" and "Foreigners are a soft target".

Also present was Egyptian community leader Mohammed Zaki who said he had known Hasaballa for ten years, before either of them had come to South Africa.

He said he had brought Hasaballa's family to take his remains back to Egypt.

"They took it very bad, his mother collapsed," he said. "She had not seen him for 10 years and now she has lost him."

It had been ten years since the family had seen Hasaballa, who was 21 when he left home. They did not recognise his face, said Zaki.

The case against the four men accused of Hasaballa's murder was postponed for a bail hearing on March 1. Until then, they will be held in the high-risk section of the Johannesburg Central Police Station cells.

Claassen said a fifth man has been arrested in connection to the murder. He will appear at Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

- SAPA