Pretoria: Wednesday, 16 November 2016: The South African Police Service would like to place it on record that Mr Mcebo Dlamini was not arrested and/or detained at any police station in Gauteng or in any other province today.
It is unfortunate that rumours of Dlamini’s alleged arrest were disseminated via social media and the media before the facts were verified. The rumours were apparently fuelled by an SMS, allegedly from Dlamini to a radio show producer, in which it was claimed that he had been arrested. This has led to several police members having to dedicate – and waste – their time on establishing beyond doubt that he had not been arrested or detained on any charge relating to the #FeesMustFall student protest or otherwise.
During the course of this morning, different variations of the story of his alleged arrest and place of detention were preferred, each one proving to be incorrect. The SAPS, through a spokesperson, placed it on record with several journalists that we had no knowledge of his arrest.
When the South African Police Service did arrest Dlamini several weeks ago, it was after a thorough investigation, and he was processed through the criminal justice system as required by law, after which he was granted bail.
We are already looking into the circumstances of the claims which have been made during the course of the day as it would seem that there has been a deliberate attempt to cast the South African Police Service in a negative light by an individual or individuals who clearly have an agenda. Those who have been economical with the truth should be exposed.
