THE cops received a tip-off about thugs who had just received guns from Mozambique and were hiding the weapons at a house in the kasi.
But they allegedly stormed the wrong house and beat two Christian brothers – Bheki (31) and Alfred Qhibi (24) – while looking for the guns.
It happened in Clau-Clau near Mbombela, Mpumalanga on 24 January this year. The brothers claimed that after the cops realised they had made a mistake, they apologised. They said the cops warned them not to take the matter further, as it would anger the residents.
“The cops promised to protect us. They said that the mere fact that they had stormed our home would give residents the impression that we were hiding behind religion,” said Bheki.
“We knew they were intimidating us, so we laid charges.”
Alfred said since the incident, no action has been taken against the cops. He said the cops smashed windows and broke doors to gain entry to the house. “We were slapped, kicked and beaten with batons.
“As they were searching for the guns, they found my passport, which showed I had been in Mozambique the previous week. They said I had gone there to get the guns.”
Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said cops had no information that the officers went to the wrong house, except the complainants’ claim against the police.
Police are investigating.
