Centurion dad made an example of, arrested after he broke curfew to buy formula
The police in Gauteng arrested a man in Wierdaburg, Centurion, after he broke the curfew of 9pm because he allegedly went to a 24-hour pharmacy to buy milk formula for his newborn child in the early hours of Friday morning. Imagine!
Imagine not being able to do one simple thing as being there for your family and feeding your newly born child? Well, this Gauteng man unfortunately got the wrong end of the new lockdown rules.
Read: SA heads into Level 3 lockdown, curfew extended, alcohol sales banned
His lawyer, Lily Rautenbach, said that his client’s newborn was struggling to feed, prompting him to go and buy formula at a hospital pharmacy as it was the only 24-hour service available. Which seems reasonable enough.
Daleen Gouws, the spokesperson for civil rights organisation Action Society, said although the father had provided police with sufficient proof of his whereabouts, “he was treated like a criminal and detained at the police station for hours."
He continued to say:
The police also refused to deliver the formula milk to his desperate wife and baby. She had to walk with the baby in the dark to the place of arrest to collect the infant milk herself. Our hospitals are under immense pressure. Consequently, babies are discharged almost immediately after birth. It is extremely difficult for inexperienced, new parents to determine what their baby's needs will be. Government and the Department of Social Development urgently need to sit down to address the needs of vulnerable parties.
Police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo also confirmed that the man was arrested and detained as of police procedure.
He was arrested for the breach of curfew under National Disaster Management Act and taken to court. He was released on warning the same day to appear in court on 18 January 2021 at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
Even though Gouws claimed the man provided police with proof of purchase, Masondo on the other hand said police could not confirm this and investigations were under way to verify the authenticity of the claim.
But with light to the allegations that were made that the man’s wife was made to walk in the dark with the baby to fetch the formula where her husband was, the police are said to be digging in deeper into this because of the seriousness of the allegation.
The provincial commissioner Lieutenant- General, Elias Mawela, has ordered an urgent internal investigation into the matter.
Gouws has also demanded that action be taken against the police officers involved.
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