Outrage over brutal assault

The man was then allegedly beaten and left to die in a police cell. It is the second time in seven months that the world has watched South African police abusing the rule of law, following the Marikana killings in August last year, writes Legalbrief. This is how the incident, which has made headlines around the world, is described in a report in The Times: Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia lay for hours bleeding to death, alone in a cell at a police station in Daveyton, on the East Rand, without medical attention. For nearly four hours, the 27-year-old - the sole breadwinner for his one-year-old son, Sergio, and 23-year-old wife, Jacquelina - lay dying in a crumpled heap, in his own blood and faeces. His alleged crime: refusing to obey police officers who ordered him to stop blocking traffic with his vehicle in Daveyton township's main street. His punishment: being dragged behind a police van for about 500m to the police station, where he was allegedly repeatedly beaten in a sustained attack that prisoners in neighbouring cells say went on for almost two hours. The police's weapons: allegedly fists, boots, truncheons and torches. Cellphone footage of the horrific incident went viral, sparking worldwide condemnation. Full report in The Times

Opposition parties have demanded that President Jacob Zuma set up a judicial commission of inquiry into police brutality, after the slaying of a Daveyton taxi driver in Johannesburg by police, says a report in The Mercury. 'It's not enough to merely ask questions about specific incidents such as Marikana and Daveyton. This country needs to know there is a plan to ensure they are not repeated over and over again,' said DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard. The videotaped police brutality that led to the death of taxi driver Mido Macia has led to renewed demands for a broader inquiry. Kohler Barnard said police did not face 'adequate disciplinary action' for transgressions. 'Indeed, the norm is that SAPS members are rarely suspended on the lead-up to a trial where the NPA has determined there is a prima facie case. They are left on duty, fully armed.' The Freedom Front Plus, ACDP and IFP all supported the call by Kohler Barnard. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed) See also a report in The Citizen

Zuma should sack the Minister of Police and National Police Commissioner, former struggle stalwart and Minister Ronnie Kasrils says in a letter to Beeld. He said the culture of police brutality should be changed in line with the values the African National Congress fought for. Professor Cornelis Roelofse, a criminologist from the University of Limpopo, in an article in the American publication, Police Practice & Research, says police violence has increased since the ANC leadership changed at the 2007 Polokwane conference. According to him, the government took a tough stance against crime and criminals after 2007. Some of the notable policy changes were the re-instatement of military ranks and the start of the 'war' against crime. The police gradually changed its stance about crime and public comments such as the 'shoot to kill' phrase began to be heard. Kasrils' letter Full Beeld report