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11 months ago
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Ekurhuleni Chief of Police Isaac Mapiyeye is facing assault accusations.
The City of Ekurhuleni is investigating its chief of police amid allegations that he badly assaulted a pregnant woman who had been working as a contracted security guard to the municipality.
Isaac Mapiyeye is alleged to have later coerced Sarah Nhlapo to withdraw the criminal charges she had laid against him, failing which, she would not only lose her job, but her employers too would have their guarding contracts terminated with the City of Ekurhuleni.
The municipality is also investigating allegations of a cover-up, in which senior officials in Mapiyeye’s office are accused of letting their boss off the hook by allowing him to be spirited away from an accident scene in a private ambulance with the full knowledge that a breathalyser needed to be carried out on the police chief.
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Nhlapo told City Press that she had registered an assault case at the Kwa Thema police station in 2021 against Mapiyeye after he had beaten her during her shift “for no reason” – an ordeal which still lingers in her memory.
Nhlapho said:
I went and opened a case against him because what he did to me was cruel and wrong. I can’t tell you to this day what it is that I had done to provoke him to beat me the way he did. And even if I had provoked him, I was heavily pregnant and could have lost my baby.
The 39-year-old said she was subsequently contacted by officials in Mapiyeye’s office, who initially attempted to coerce her to drop the asset charges against their boss, or else she would lose her job.
“They knew I needed the job, especially because I am a mother. So, they called me one day and asked me to give my version of what happened, which I did.
“I was then told that I couldn’t talk about this issue anymore and that I should withdraw the criminal case that I had opened. I was told that, if I wanted to continue with the case, it would cost me my job and that my employer’s contract would be cancelled in its entirety,” said Nhlapo.
She also said:
They moved me to a different site and that was the last time the matter was ever spoken about. It is a painful thing for someone in my position to watch such a powerful man get away with something like this. He’s untouchable and people like us are just like dirt to him. I believe his day will come.
Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the municipality viewed the allegations made by Nhlapo in a serious light and would request a thorough investigation into the chief of police as a matter of urgency.
“It must be highlighted that the City of Ekurhuleni maintains a zero-tolerance stance against gender-based violence and any form of misconduct by any officials. Our priority is to foster a safe and respectful working environment for all our employees and contractors alike.
Dlamini said:
As such, through our human resources department, we will be instituting an investigation into these serious claims and ensure that every necessary step is taken to make sure the truth comes to light, and, if need be, justice is served.
City Press was also alerted to further allegations against Mapiyeye and his top officials of covering up for the chief of police at an accident scene which saw him wreck his Mercedes-Benz in 2019.
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Two Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department officers deposed to sworn statements alleging that Mapiyeye was seemingly shielded by senior officials in his department from being breathalysed on the scene of the accident and, instead, allowed him to be driven away in a private ambulance to a hospital.
The two officers said instructions were instead issued to breathalyse the driver of the second vehicle that was involved in the car crash, who was apparently found unconscious on the side of the road.
Dlamini said:
The roles of the senior officials mentioned in relation to the alleged cover-up will also be thoroughly investigated and, where necessary, there will be consequence management
Mapiyeye had not responded to written questions and subsequent phone calls made to him.
“I went through the questions posed and concede that the allegations levelled against me are of a serious nature, this matter has been escalated to my principal,” said Mapiyeye.
