Today, I caught a glimpse of what people who have been on the receiving end of police raids go through. At about eleven in the morning (I had just woken up, having slept late marking essays) - I heard loud pounding on my door. Yeah, this was surprising, given that I hardly ever get visitors, albeit door-pounding ones. I open the door to this stream of cops. Okay, at first, it was a policewoman, who immediately got into this monologue in Zulu. I told her I wasnt quite following what she was asking me, upon which she asked,
"Are you Zimbabwean? Where is your passport?"
Okay, I am kind of used to the idea that being foreign in SA places me in a certain position of disadvantage sometimes, but even this was new. Surely they should respect the privacy of my home? But no. I told her I was Kenyan.
"Where's your passport?" She snapped.
" In school."
"The law says you must have it on your person at all times. I must arrest you."
Okay, this was not funny. I was in my damn PJs and this woman is threatening to place cuffs on me for the first time in my life, for a crime I wasnt sure I had committed? I calmly explained to her that I was a student at Wits, and if she wanted, we could walk to campus, and I would give her my passport, which happened to be in school. Meantime, another officer had strolled into my tiny kitchen. The first cop kept asking if I lived alone, as she made her way to my bedroom, and opened my wardrobe and things. At this point am beginning to get irritated.
"so what must I do?" she asked.
"You can wait for me outside, I will run and get my passport".
"No. My job is to arrest anyone without papers."
Then i remembered I had a certified copy of my passport. I found my wallet, pulled it out and gave it to her.
"Where is the police stamp?"
"Its certified, officer".
"No, it must have a police stamp". Pause, "so what must we do? Give us something!"
Its only then that I noticed I was being harassed by this woman. The other cop was busy going through my CD collection.
"Are you selling these?"
I frowned. That is my CD collection. Its in a CD holder. It contains different CDs. How could I-
"Next time, you must have your passport. Otherwise we will arrest you!"
"Close your door!"
Okay.
This whole bizzare episode could not haqve lasted more than 20 minutes, but I felt the effects of it. I could no longer focus on the essays, even though I had a one oclock deadline. I am still asking myself if its even legal to do what they did. Or I am expecting too much from the Law? Are surbabian homes raided in the same fashion, or is it just flats located in a particular area? How many more times should we expect these raids?
God, its gets wierder everyday, doesn't it?
Monday, October 13, 2008
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7 comments:
Pole for your ordeal, it's not easy being a foreigner. I doubt it's legal, but what can you do?
Sho!!! Thank God black people dont blash!!! You would have gone purple my dear!! I am really sorry!! I can almost see the guys in your flat and them so thinking you were ILLEGAL!! They must have spoiled your day!
Kwanza the pain of listening to someone go into a Zulu monologue immediately tells you that you are not them and you can bet me, that's the whole idea. That tells them how to 'deal with you'. may be I am just too paranoid but then this is SA and you are foreign...where foreign means from another(read: poorer) African country.
I doubt it's legal, but what can you do?
This really disturbs me!Sisbigbones, the hopelessness and desperation in 'what can we do?' makes me think...do foreigners have rights in a land not their own and if no, for how long will Dino, you and I have to put up with it?
Thanks you guys. It was an unpleasant ordeal! The next time anyone bangs my door like that, I bet you they will have to break down my door coz, this is not on. If it aint legal what they did, then I am going to make myself illegal. I will refuse to open.
I suggest you go to the Wits legal centre to get advise for charging these officers with trespassing. I come with you if you like or help finding you another lawyer. I assume it was a Wits residence - what is the university doing?
Did you ask the officers for their batches? Do you know their names? I mean we have to start somewhere. All they want is money on the side and they merely pretend to enforce the law. Indeed, it is this shit and the behaviour of these scumbags that makes me want to leave.
I just called my lawyer. She said when police asks you to open your door and talk to them, you have to comply. However, entering your appartment and searching through it requires a search warrant. From your description, it was a proper search, without a warrant, and therefore illegal. I seriously suggest you see the law clinic and charge them with trespassing.
Hey Thomas. Thanks so much. I hear you, my initial impulse was to seek legal redress, but problem is these cops were not from the area, and two, I live outside of campus. That is actually why I felt so helpless about it all. I was unable to protect myself because my passport was indeed in school and they would have arrested me and then asked for it later. Now when you have just woken up and have no idea where what's what, your senses are usually numb. So i failed to take down their details (of course they were super agro towards me) and so that's that. If it had been a wits res, i am sure I would have found a million ways to charge them. But thnks so much for your support and I hope we keep the faith. Its a good thing we still have homes to go back to. Imagine if they do that to an illegal immigrant! the repurcusions! But I will keep your advice in mind, and if anything of the sort ever happens to me again, I will definitely call you for advice. Thanks
I totally don't like the sound of that. That's some scary poop business. Pole sana Di
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