NATIONAL NEWS - A police officer accused of calling his subordinates the ‘k-word’ on multiple occasions will appear in court on Tuesday, News24 has reported.
Captain JM Henrico, who has been the subject of various complaints dating back to 2016, will face charges of crimen injuria at the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) released a statement about Henrico’s conduct, which allegedly includes using the ‘k-word’ as well as other forms of verbal abuse.
“Black police officers at the Pretoria police station have filed various internal and criminal complaints against Captain Henrico for numerous acts of racism against them,” LHR said.
LHR added the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) decision to proceed with a criminal trial in the matter offered hope for the officers and sent a strong message that racism had serious consequences.
“Racism has no place in our post-democratic South Africa, particularly not in the very institutions charged with protecting the rights of all South Africans and being the custodians of the equality clause of our Constitution,” LHR attorney Wayne Ncube said.
Crimen injuria, under South African law, is defined as “a willful injury to someone’s dignity, caused by the use of obscene or racially offensive language or gestures”.
