The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) staged a march in Pretoria on Tuesday to protest allegations of sexual exploitation at SAPS training facilities and workplaces, particularly affecting recruits.

Union members gathered at Burghers Park in the morning before marching to the SAPS offices, where they demanded that National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola take action against those implicated in sexual abuse cases.

Under the “Restore Dignity March” banner, the union condemned the persistent sexual exploitation, describing it as a common occurrence within the police force.

The campaign against sexual abuse gained momentum following recent allegations that a police captain had sexually assaulted women at a training academy in Tshwane.

Union spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said Popcru demands accountability within SAPS training facilities and colleges following the alleged sexual abuse of a student police officer by her trainer at the SAPS college.

The reported case of abuse is currently in court, and Mamabolo said the union has since been getting a lot of anonymous calls from other victims of sexual abuse. 

He said the union wants Masemola to prioritise transparency, ensure proper vetting of student trainers, and establish an anonymous reporting system for such incidents.

The union also expects SAPS to provide quarterly reports on the number of cases reported and the actions taken. 

Mamabolo said the union also calls for the expulsion of General Matilda Zulu, who is in charge of SAPS training facilities.

“We feel that she needs to be recalled from her position and put in a person who is capable of ensuring learners get proper treatment and that sexual abuses are something that is actually rooted out of the colleges,” he said. 

The union gave SAPS a 14-day ultimatum to respond to its memorandum of demands, failing which they would take the matter to the Police Minister and Parliament for intervention, and potentially international human rights bodies.

General Neo Nkhoua, who accepted the memorandum, assured the union that he would forward it to Masemola and Mchunu.

She pledged that management would respond in writing and take action within 14 days.

“We cannot afford to keep receiving demeaning and concerning reports of members raping victims of crime, being involved in serious and violent crime and turning their family dwellings into crime scenes of domestic violence and perpetuating the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide,” she said.

Nkhoua noted that over the past five years, SAPS has taken disciplinary action against 212 members for sexual harassment, including 17 precautionary suspensions, 17 suspensions without pay, and 24 dismissals.

Additionally, 43 police officers were dismissed for rape over the past five years, and six received salary suspensions. 

Nkhoua said: “These figures are alarming and equally disturbing considering the fact that they involve those who are supposed to uphold and enforce the law.”

Cosatu general secretary Solly Phetoe noted that sexual abuse cases have been reported not only within the SAPS but also in other sectors.

In a media statement, the federation of unions emphasised the importance of training workers across all sectors on the 2021 amendments to the Sexual Offences and Criminal Procedures Acts to empower them with knowledge of their rights and responsibilities in combating gender-based violence, including workplace sexual harassment.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

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