Former EFF MP Naledi Chirwa has broken her silence after a violent altercation with police at Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria, accusing a senior officer of assault and deliberately blocking her from opening a case.
In a note, seen by Africa Daily on Saturday, Chirwa confirmed she was forced to seek emergency medical treatment and document her injuries following what she calls an “undesirable incident” on Thursday late afternoon and evening.
The man at the centre of her complaint is Colonel Dintwe, a senior officer at Brooklyn SAPS.
“I’ve been to the emergency room and got all injuries documented after an undesirable incident at Brooklyn Police Station on Thursday late afternoon and evening,” Chirwa said.
“And after two attempts over two days trying to open a case of assault against a police officer, I finally was granted my right to report a case against Colonel Dintwe today, who assaulted me for demanding services and attempting to record a video of him refusing and turning me back.”
Chirwa’s account paints a damning picture of abuse of power and panic inside the station.
According to her, after she was “unduly detained”, officers realised who she was. The colonel then allegedly tried to backtrack.
“After being informed of who I was when I was unduly detained, the perpetrator panicked, released me and wanted to have a ‘conversation’ to which I refused and opted for things to unfold in accordance to the law,” she said.
“He then decided to lay a case against me, detain me again and involve the media in attempt to protect himself and control the narrative for his undue and violent actions against me.”
It is a classic SAPS cover-up playbook – charge the victim to bury the crime – and Chirwa is having none of it.
“I am more than pleased that the law will now take its course. Lies have short legs and truth stands the test of time,” she said.
In a scathing rebuke of SAPS culture, she detailed how she was turned away at 17:00 for the same service she was then granted at midnight – at the same police station.
“It is also very telling that the very same service I was being denied of at 17:00 at Brooklyn Police Station, I received on the same day close to midnight at the same police station. A clear demonstration that I was merely being frustrated,” she said.
“An all too familiar experience for many South Africans.”
Chirwa, who sat on the Health Portfolio Committee during her deployment by the EFF, said she has seen this abuse repeatedly – in police stations, clinics, hospitals and schools – where poor and vulnerable South Africans are turned away and told to come back tomorrow.
“I detest refusal of services with every fibre of my being. Too many people have wallowed in hopelessness due to being turned back for their basic human rights that they are entitled to. This must not be normalised,” she said.
“And no matter your rank, your position in society or your bank balance, when you serve the people, you must do so with humility, respect and compassion. If these are too much an ask, then you’re not meant to be a public servant. If your first instinct is to relieve yourself of the burden of assisting the public, then you must not be in service of the public.”
Her statement ends with a direct message of solidarity to victims of gender-based violence and patients who have been turned away at the gates of the state – a direct indictment of a government that has failed to fix its frontline services.
“To GBV victims who’ve been turned away at police stations, sick people who’ve been turned away at clinics and hospitals – we stand in solidarity. May we all get the justice and services we deserve.”
Chirwa also invited members of the public who face similar treatment to reach out to her via DM or WhatsApp, saying her office has over the years assisted many people, particularly in the health sector.
The SAPS has not yet publicly responded to Chirwa’s assault complaint against Colonel Dintwe, nor explained why it took two attempts over two days for her to be allowed to open a case – a constitutional right.
Chirwa says she is recovering and will soon return to activism.
“I am well and promise to be better and ready to hit the streets soon enough,” she said.
