We've seen it happen in Zimbabwe and here we are in SA and it is starting to happen here. If I was Herbert Matimba, I would certainly, after the fact lay a charge against the police who were chasing me. Not sure how or if it would stick, but the bottom line would be that I would document, by means of a charge, that I was displeased.
'My 24 hours of hell as cops looked for me'
January 17 2007 at 08:36AM
By Herbert Matimba
I was driving into the parking lot of my block of flats when I saw people running out of the building. Curious, I parked and followed. And that was the beginning of my 24 hours of hell. There were two police vehicles. There was somebody underneath one, and when I got closer I saw it was a young woman.
'Let's get this guy. He might cause problems for us' People told me she was a prostitute.I dashed to my car to get a camera and took pictures of the woman, who was lying unconscious on the road. I heard people say "how can the police do this?"
A policewoman approached me and asked who I was. I told her and she went back to her colleagues. Shortly after, a policeman came to me and told me not to get closer to the woman, who by then looked dead. A little later, another policeman came and told me to next time ask permission before taking pictures. I was moving away from the scene when I heard the policeman who first approached me say: "Let's get this guy. He might cause problems for us." Somebody in the crowd told me to run as they were coming after me. I ran and found cover in a garage from where I was able to see what was going on. The police were running up and down as if searching for me. They seemed keen on finding me. I realised that if they found me they would take my camera and perhaps destroy the pictures I took.
After an hour or so it became quiet. The police seemed to have left. I decided to see if I could get into my flat. But when I got there the same police were standing there. I decided not to go in. I found a woman and asked for a jacket to disguise myself. I told her what had happened. She said we must make sure we keep the pictures. I spent the night at her cousin's place.
This article was originally published on page 1 of Pretoria News on January 17, 2007
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