Cops at work, despite attack
2006-11-30 18:24
Nelspruit - Two cops, accused of taking turns to shoot a man in each leg when he complained because they were beating up a suspected criminal, are still on duty.
The cops, who work at KaNyamazane police station near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, have been charged with attempted murder.
According to police regulations, any member of the police who is charged with a serious offence must be immediately suspended, pending an internal investigation.
Acting station commissioner at KaNyamazane Mica Tlou said the regulation applied only to police who were in custody.
"In the case of these officers, they were not incarcerated... so, this regulation does not apply," he said.
The two cops are out on R500 bail each.
The office of provincial police commissioner Afrika Khumalo was not aware of the case.
Khumalo's spokesperson, superintendent Sibongile Nkosi, promised to investigate.
The cops - Jacob Nathaniel Tshabalala, 24, and Mfundo Kenius Masuku, 24, are accused of shooting Vusi Manana in broad daylight in Msogwaba on May 22.
'I was insulted, then shot'
Manana told Nelspruit regional court last week he had been in a queue to buy a phone card when the two cops arrived and manhandled another man in the queue.
He said he asked them why they didn't just arrest the man, instead of causing a disturbance.
The cops, he claims, insulted him and followed him.
Just before he reached his parents' house, he was shot in each leg.
While he was in hospital, the two cops arrived with colleagues and arrested him and kept him in custody for three days.
He was charged with defeating the ends of justice, but the case was dismissed later in court.
The two cops will appear in court again on January 15.