Cops raid King of Bling's club
30 November 2009, 09:57
By Lesego Masemola
Three people were injured when police raided a popular nightclub owned by alleged crime kingpin William "Mashobane" Mbatha, also known as "King of Bling", in Atteridgeville at the weekend.
A chef, a DJ and another patron were among hundreds of people at Ramsquare Café on Friday night when the incident happened.
Police who were apparently on a weekend crime prevention operation in the township allegedly attacked patrons by firing stun grenades and rubber bullets.
Some of the rubber bullets hit a chef and a DJ from a community radio station.
Other patrons, including women, were allegedly slapped and kicked around by heavily armed police officers.
One patron sustained a cut above his eye after allegedly being assaulted.
Reliving what has been described as "police brutality", Mbatha's close friend Ditlhakiso Mothabela accused police of specifically targeting the club and attacking and terrorising them.
"They came in many cars, including three vans and two police trucks. It was like a Swat team from the movies and they just came in there and made us lie on the floor.
"But before they attacked us, there were three loud noises from stun grenades.
"It was horrible... everybody was screaming and that is when I ran out of the club for cover," he said.
Mothabela was arrested on a charge of "interfering" (in a police operation) and was released on warning on Saturday night.
He was allegedly caught taking pictures of what was happening inside the club. He is due to appear in the Atteridgeville Magistrate's Court tomorrow and his camera has since been confiscated by police.
Two other people, including the café's manager, were detained and released in the early hours of Saturday morning, apparently after not being charged.
Another patron, Tumi Mashego, said he saw the police while on a phone call outside the club.
"They came in many cars. There were many of them. After firing the grenades, they made us lie down - even those that were outside.
"They trampled on us, searched us and some people were slapped around. One DJ was shot in the back. Another guy, who is a soldier and tried to identify himself to the police, was also slapped and was bruised above the eye.
"It was really scary and traumatising.
"We were treated as if we were criminals, and all we were doing was having fun in a nightclub and not making any trouble," said Mashego.
A chef at the club, Abner Maano, said he ran for cover, thinking the club was being robbed.
"When I got to the kitchen I saw a policeman at the door. I was relieved and went to him, but instead he held me by my neck and pushed me to the floor.
"When I tried to get up, another policeman walked in from the back and the next moment I was shot in my buttocks.
"It was really terrifying," he said.
The Pretoria News was sent from pillar to post when trying to get official comment from the police last night.
Provincial police spokesman Eugene Opperman referred enquiries to a Commissioner Mbatha, who was unavailable on her phone.
Station commander Senior Superintendent Lucas Ramangwa said he was unable to comment as all queries were handled by Mbatha. He referred us to Atteridgeville police spokesperson Daniel Mavimbela, who also said he was not allowed to comment and referred all enquiries to Mbatha.
She remained unavailable on Sunday night.
Last week Sars officials confiscated some of Mbatha's possessions, including an undisclosed amount of cash.
The confiscations by Sars officials are related to an investigation into Mbatha's tax affairs.
It is separate from the criminal charges he faces.
He is currently in jail fighting to be freed on bail, the hearing of which has been postponed several times.
He is facing charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and two counts of kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Three people were injured when police raided a popular nightclub owned by alleged crime kingpin William "Mashobane" Mbatha, also known as "King of Bling", in Atteridgeville at the weekend.
A chef, a DJ and another patron were among hundreds of people at Ramsquare Café on Friday night when the incident happened.
Police who were apparently on a weekend crime prevention operation in the township allegedly attacked patrons by firing stun grenades and rubber bullets.
Some of the rubber bullets hit a chef and a DJ from a community radio station.
Other patrons, including women, were allegedly slapped and kicked around by heavily armed police officers.
One patron sustained a cut above his eye after allegedly being assaulted.
Reliving what has been described as "police brutality", Mbatha's close friend Ditlhakiso Mothabela accused police of specifically targeting the club and attacking and terrorising them.
"They came in many cars, including three vans and two police trucks. It was like a Swat team from the movies and they just came in there and made us lie on the floor.
"But before they attacked us, there were three loud noises from stun grenades.
"It was horrible... everybody was screaming and that is when I ran out of the club for cover," he said.
Mothabela was arrested on a charge of "interfering" (in a police operation) and was released on warning on Saturday night.
He was allegedly caught taking pictures of what was happening inside the club. He is due to appear in the Atteridgeville Magistrate's Court tomorrow and his camera has since been confiscated by police.
Two other people, including the café's manager, were detained and released in the early hours of Saturday morning, apparently after not being charged.
Another patron, Tumi Mashego, said he saw the police while on a phone call outside the club.
"They came in many cars. There were many of them. After firing the grenades, they made us lie down - even those that were outside.
"They trampled on us, searched us and some people were slapped around. One DJ was shot in the back. Another guy, who is a soldier and tried to identify himself to the police, was also slapped and was bruised above the eye.
"It was really scary and traumatising.
"We were treated as if we were criminals, and all we were doing was having fun in a nightclub and not making any trouble," said Mashego.
A chef at the club, Abner Maano, said he ran for cover, thinking the club was being robbed.
"When I got to the kitchen I saw a policeman at the door. I was relieved and went to him, but instead he held me by my neck and pushed me to the floor.
"When I tried to get up, another policeman walked in from the back and the next moment I was shot in my buttocks.
"It was really terrifying," he said.
The Pretoria News was sent from pillar to post when trying to get official comment from the police last night.
Provincial police spokesman Eugene Opperman referred enquiries to a Commissioner Mbatha, who was unavailable on her phone.
Station commander Senior Superintendent Lucas Ramangwa said he was unable to comment as all queries were handled by Mbatha. He referred us to Atteridgeville police spokesperson Daniel Mavimbela, who also said he was not allowed to comment and referred all enquiries to Mbatha.
She remained unavailable on Sunday night.
Last week Sars officials confiscated some of Mbatha's possessions, including an undisclosed amount of cash.
The confiscations by Sars officials are related to an investigation into Mbatha's tax affairs.
It is separate from the criminal charges he faces.
He is currently in jail fighting to be freed on bail, the hearing of which has been postponed several times.
He is facing charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and two counts of kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Pretoria News on November 30, 2009
