A video of a soldier slapping a woman in Tafelsig that had gone viral has been widely condemned on social media and the Western Cape MEC of Community Safety has requested he be removed from Operation Prosper.
Sources on the ground in the area, however, say the woman had slapped the soldier first and only the second part of the altercation was filmed.
Who started it?
It is unclear how the incident, which reportedly took place on Friday, started, but the woman in the video has gone on record telling news channel eNCA that the soldier had attacked her son and she stepped in to defend him.
The video, which went viral over the weekend, shows the woman shouting at the soldier, a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member of Operation Prosper on the Cape Flats, and he then slaps her.
The woman told eNCA she had laid a charge against the soldier with the police.
Police charge
Police spokesperson Capt FC van Wyk confirmed that a case had been opened.
“Mitchells Plain police registered a common assault case following an incident in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, over the weekend, involving a SANDF member and a resident,” he said.
No-one had been arrested in the case, which was opened on Saturday 29 August.
MEC condemns assault
MEC of Community Safety Anroux Marais has issued a statement calling for the soldier to be removed from Operation Prosper.
She said the full circumstances had to be established through a proper investigation, but “whatever the circumstances leading up to this incident cannot justify the assault captured on video. Our security forces are expected to act professionally, lawfully and with restraint, particularly when dealing directly with members of the public.”
Marais said she wrote to the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt-General Sizakhele Dyantyi, and requested that his office monitor the investigation and the matter be formally referred to the SANDF for further investigation.
TygerBurger reached out to the SANDF for comment. There was no response at the time of publication.
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