The trial against the police officers has been postponed numerous times in the Edenburg Magistrate’s Court. 

It all dates back to 2 October 2017, when Edgar Mokotso and three other people were hitchhiking on the N1 outside Trompsburg, heading to Edenburg. 

Reliving the details of the day in question, Mokotso said they were accused by the police of robbing a local furniture store after they got a lift in a white panel van. He alleges that seven police officers assaulted them while they were in custody before being released for wrongful arrests the same day. To this day, he maintains he and others received compensation from the state in light of the incident to the tune of hundreds of thousands in late 2020.

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He explained he wants to see if the case will go ahead as scheduled, whether there will be another postponement, and what will the reason be for that postponement. 

Mokotso added the Magistrate will decide if the case should continue or be thrown out. 

The seven police officers – six men and one woman – are facing charges of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm. 

One of the postponements was due to some of the police officers failing to appear before the court, which resulted in them getting arrested. The station commander of the Trompsburg Police Station and a local sergeant also failed to make their appearance as witnesses in July 2020. 

The spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Phaladi Shuping, told OFM News that as a result, the Magistrate has issued warrants of arrest for these officials.

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It was reported that the compensation the victims received was for winning a lawsuit against the police in December 2020. The trial of the case began three years after the incident occurred. 

There have been internal disciplinary proceedings against the seven police officers between 2018 and 2019 but it turned out futile as their unions managed to defend their members successfully. 

However, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) found the police officers to be in the wrong. In October 2019, Viewfinder published an exposé on IPID, alleging that cases were being manipulated by investigators for the purpose of altering the directorate’s performance on cases.

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The case was postponed in 2021 due to “mic issues”, and the latest postponement was to allow for the prosecution to prepare for trial. 

Mokhotso concluded that he hope the outcome of this court case would be positive on their side, as justice must be served at the end of the day.

OFM News