The offence should have seen them fined R1,000 and released but instead, the men were thrown first into the back of a police van and then into prison.
Mjoliso Mphotye a waste picker that was arrested during the nationwide lockdown can be seen at the informal settlement along the Hennops river in Centurion, 9 July 2020, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Mphotye and his friend, Justice Shabangu, were arrested for breaking the lockdown rules back in April. Desperate for something to eat, they had ventured out from their homes in ‘Mushroomville’ – the informal and ramshackle compound on the banks of the Hennops River, where they live with a community of waste collectors – in search of food.
“The problem is we all owe each other here and I had used my last money to pay the people I owed,” he said, “On our way home, we ran into the police. They greeted us and we greeted them back. We didn’t think there was anything wrong”.Mjoliso Mphotye a waste picker that was arrested during the nationwide lockdown can be seen at the informal settlement along the Hennops river in Centurion, 9 July 2020, Pretoria.
“I’m not a criminal, I’m a man of God. This was the first time,” he said, “I was in shock. The beds had no mattresses and we slept on the steel frames. My entire body hurt. I slept awfully. I woke up awfully. There were people fighting and I was scared”.
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