Esther Lewis
7 October 2008
A Congolese woman says she was assaulted by a security guard outside the home affairs office in Nyanga on Monday.
Nuemva Kalenga, 28, who lives with her brother Alan Bataga, 35, in Bergvliet, was at the office to renew her permit, Bataga told the Cape Argus on Monday.
He said his sister, who does not speak English, had been standing in a line with hundreds of other people, when a security guard told them to move back as the office opened its doors at 8am.
"Then he came to her and just started hitting her," Bataga said. He said his sister was hit in the mid-section and in her kidney area.
Bataga took Kalenga to a doctor in Wynberg, where it was established she was not seriously injured.
She was told to return if she noticed any blood in her urine, as that could indicate a kidney injury.
Siobhan McCarthy, home affairs spokesperson, confirmed the incident.
She said the security guard who allegedly beat Kalenga was an employee of Lighthouse, a security company brought on board to control the crowds of refugees outside the home affairs office.
Security was tightened after the police were called in when refugees and asylum seekers, unhappy with the service they were receiving, forced their way into the home affairs building.
"A meeting has been called between home affairs and the service provider, so the necessary disciplinary steps can be taken," McCarthy said on Monday
Bataga, who has lived in South Africa for 10 years, said this was the first negative experience he had had.
He said he would accompany his sister to the Nyanga police station on Tuesday to lay a charge of assault.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Cape Argus. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
