AfriForum has taken on the case of Delia Human and Barend Byliefeldt after they were allegedly assaulted in the White River Police Station last month.
Human and Byliefeldt were followed to the police station after an altercation on the road, where Byliefeldt was then allegedly assaulted by some of his pursuers.
One of the pursuers cars had the branding of MAMRA Security Solutions and VIP Protection. The owner of the company, Mathlatse Maroga, was one of the men involved in the altercation.
The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) have since launched an investigation into MAMRA Security. It has come to light that MAMRA is not registered with it.
Maroga said they were acting in a personal capacity and just happened to be in the branded car. However, PSIRA regulations state that once you are in a branded vehicle or clothing, you are acting as a security official in the eyes of the public.
PSIRA have spoken to Maroga, but its head office is currently still busy with the investigations.
Maroga told Lowvelder the business was new, which was why it had not been registered with PSIRA yet. However, information indicated that the business has existed since 2012. According to PSIRA, the registration application was “provisionally rejected”.
Marnus Kamfer, legal and risk advisor of community safety for AfriForum, said they are working closely with the SAPS and PSIRA. “We are in contact and sharing information.”
At this stage, AfriForum is only helping the couple with their case against MAMRA. “Our case against the police will only happen at a later stage,” said Kamfer. “It is unacceptable that the police just stand by while someone is being assaulted, especially in the police station.”
The incident has been reported to and is being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
AfriForum said that for now its focus is only on those who assaulted the couple. They will wait for the IPID investigation to be completed.
“Complaints have been made to all the relevant authorities. We are keeping a close eye on it. If the outcome is not what we want, we will take the next steps,” said Kamfer.
The provincial spokesperson for SAPS, Brig Donald Mdhluli, said the investigation into the event is still ongoing.
This article was originally published in the
.
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