South African police arrested freelance journalist Sandiso Phaliso while he was photographing a crime scene in the country’s legislative capital of Cape Town on April 25 and held him for about two hours, the journalist told CPJ.
Phaliso, who regularly writes for the non-profit news agency GroundUp, said that he went to a crime scene in Philippi, a suburb of Cape Town, after he received a news tip about the attempted robbery of a security vehicle. A police officer approached Phaliso and told him to stop photographing the scene or face arrest. Phaliso identified himself as a freelance journalist and continued to take photographs with his mobile phone.
“The crime scene was not cordoned off, so it was open to everyone,” Phaliso told CPJ.
Phaliso said that the officer confiscated his phone and took him in a police van to the nearby Nyanga police post where he was held on allegations of obstructing police work.
Phaliso handed over his belongings, including his belt, bank cards and 230 rand (about $12.35) in cash, to the arresting officer, the journalist said. After two hours, Phaliso was released on the condition that he deleted all photographs of the crime scene.
Upon his release, Phaliso learned that the police had given his belongings to his daughter, who visited him while he was detained, and found that 110 rand (about $5.89) of his money was missing.
On April 26, GroundUp editor Nathan Geffen wrote to the police, protesting the arrest. The letter was copied to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, an oversight body that investigates allegations of police misconduct.
“It is unlawful to detain people for taking photographs. It is unlawful to force them to delete photographs,” Geffen wrote in the letter, reviewed by CPJ. “Please instruct your officers that they are not to arrest people taking photos of crime scenes.”
In the letter, Geffen said it was a breach of procedure that Phaliso’s money was given to his daughter and asked the police to pay the journalist the disputed money. On June 5, Geffen told CPJ that police had yet to respond to GroundUp’s protest letter.
National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe did not respond to CPJ’s repeated requests for comments sent via messaging app. The public relations department of the Independent Police Investigative Director also did not respond to CPJ’s email query.
Western Cape provincial spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut told CPJ via messaging app that the South African Police Service were aware of the incident and encouraged Phaliso to lodge an official complaint with the Nyanga police station management or the Independent Police Investigative Directorate before his office can comment further.
Editor’s note: CPJ Head of Africa program Angela Quintal is a member of the GroundUp board.