<h3>When Pigs Run Free</h3>

Owners of Stellenbosch student hang-outs are preparing civil and criminal cases against riot police who launched "brutal" raids on their bars at the weekend. And an award-winning Belgian poet who was caught up in the raids with his German girlfriend described police behaviour as "revolting".

The owner of the Mystic Boer, Willem Coertzen, said victims of the raids were planning to charge police with assault and damage to property, and to sue them for loss of trade. "I was hit in the face with the butt of a shotgun," said Coertzen, who was handcuffed during the raid. "They were shooting into the ceiling, pointing rifles into people’s faces, it was complete chaos."

The Times | ‘Brutal’ raids spark outrage

One student, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said that when police officers arrived at Bohemia restaurant in the early hours of Saturday morning, they threw women against the walls and smashed glasses against the heads of customers waiting to be searched for drugs.

She also claimed some of the women had been sexually violated by a male police officer. Some patrons said they had been pepper-sprayed while lying face down on the floor.

"It was brutal and horrific. There are even gun-shot holes in the roof from when the police entered with 'guns blazing'," claimed the student. She said police had raided several clubs and pubs on Saturday night but that "things got out of hand" at Bohemia and another club, Die Mystic Boer. A raid was also carried out at the Springbok Pub.

Independent Online | Women sexually violated during raid



I dunno what they're moaning about. As Director Dirk Mentoor smugly points out, "This is standard operating procedure." He's right. The cops have been out of control for as long as I can remember. They're brutal, corrupt, concienceless thugs — high on drugs, violence and stolen goods — who've no respect for the law or the people they're supposed to serve. Ask 25-year old Nico Bouwer.

On Saturday, March 1, Nico Bouwer, 25, was wed while heavily medicated - antidepressants because of severe trauma and antiretrovirals to prevent HIV/Aids. Four detainees repeatedly raped Bouwer in one night. The police did nothing to prevent it from happening.

He had been arrested earlier in the day at an accident and thrown in a cell. Bouwer said he had not been allowed to make the phone call to which he was entitled by law.

In the dirty cell where he was kept with 25 other inmates, his arms were held and his head was pressed into a pillow so that his screams could not be heard. Apparently, Bouwer wept aloud from shock and despair. In the course of the night, he was repeatedly raped by four inmates.

He said the police did not once come to see what was happening in the cells. Later, Bouwer lost consciousness. When he woke up early the next morning, one of the men crawled to him and whispered with a smile: "After last night, you are truly one of us."

Media24 | Cell rape hell before wedding

Standard operating procedure...

Note: The unabridged version of No More Mandelas is available over at fromtheold.

No More Mandelas Part I
No More Mandelas Part II
No More Mandelas Part III