Statement of Congress of the people (COPE) Tshwane Region on the arrest of COPE leader in the council Honourable Cllr Kedibone Mathebe:

Congress of the people (COPE) in Tshwane Region is saddened by the unfair arrest of Cllr Kedibone Mathebe (who is also the leader of COPE in the council) by the Metro Police.

This is concerning because she was fined and then handcuffed and arrested for a licence expired for twelve (12) days. She was accompanied by six (6) metro police men as if she is a hardened criminal.

 The treatment of Cllr Kedibone Mathebe leaves a lot to be desired. While we encourage her and all drivers to renew their licences timeously, she was in this instance prejudiced because she is yet to receive a notice through post as reminders renew the licence and the 21 days grace period has not lapsed.

We are however glad that, the case against Cllr Kedibone Mathebe was dismissed.

We are also of the view that Cllr Kedibone Mathebe is correct for instituting a law suit against the police.

This incident happens just a week after the Tshwane Metro deputy chief was found to be using fake number plates on his cars and used one number plate for two vehicles. Even worse, his car was not registered; Mr Ndumiso Jaca is walking free, despite his illegal activities.

We call on law enforcers to ensure that the arm of the law is long for all including ANC cadres, because for now it seems the arm of the law is shorter for ANC deployees and cadres and long for everybody else.

Congress of the people (COPE) in Tshwane region will be seeking legal advice on this matter.

Statement issued by Sefu Sekgala, Cope Tshwane regional secretary, September 20 2011

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