Sipho Mthembu
Sipho Mthembu
Jabu Mahlangu's lawyer, Michael Murphy, will advise the Orlando Pirates star to sue the police for wrongful detention.
A furious Murphy yesterday said: "There has to be a statement made, not just for Jabu Mahlangu, but for all other high-profile people, that they must be treated like you and me.
"What happened to Jabu was unprocedural. He was locked up for a day without a full investigation being made."
Mahlangu surrendered to the Mondeor police on Wednesday after a 17-year-old from Pretoria laid charges of kidnapping and rape against him on Sunday.
He was detained for more than five hours.
The case was thrown out of court.
"When a person is accused of something, the police must investigate, assess if there is any basis on which to charge the accused and meet the prosecutor," said Murphy.
"With Jabu, that was not the case. He was not treated like a normal person.
"I was on my way to the high court for a bail application when I finally got hold of the investigating officer, who was with the prosecutor.
"I demanded to speak to the prosecutor and it was only then that I was told that there was no basis [on which] to charge Jabu.
"I don't know if Jabu would be interested in suing or whether he'll only be too happy that the whole thing is behind him, but a statement has to be made."
The police yesterday defended their action and insisted that they had followed proper procedures.
"It is up to him [Murphy] to prove that we did not follow the right procedure," said police spokesman Cheryl Engelbrecht.
"We had to detain Mahlangu because of the sensitivity of the case. The bottom line is that we do our work and the courts take decisions."
Jabu advised to sue police
Sipho Mthembu
Sipho Mthembu
Jabu Mahlangu's lawyer, Michael Murphy, will advise the Orlando Pirates star to sue the police for wrongful detention.
A furious Murphy yesterday said: "There has to be a statement made, not just for Jabu Mahlangu, but for all other high-profile people, that they must be treated like you and me.
"What happened to Jabu was unprocedural. He was locked up for a day without a full investigation being made."
Mahlangu surrendered to the Mondeor police on Wednesday after a 17-year-old from Pretoria laid charges of kidnapping and rape against him on Sunday.
He was detained for more than five hours.
The case was thrown out of court.
"When a person is accused of something, the police must investigate, assess if there is any basis on which to charge the accused and meet the prosecutor," said Murphy.
"With Jabu, that was not the case. He was not treated like a normal person.
"I was on my way to the high court for a bail application when I finally got hold of the investigating officer, who was with the prosecutor.
"I demanded to speak to the prosecutor and it was only then that I was told that there was no basis [on which] to charge Jabu.
"I don't know if Jabu would be interested in suing or whether he'll only be too happy that the whole thing is behind him, but a statement has to be made."
The police yesterday defended their action and insisted that they had followed proper procedures.
"It is up to him [Murphy] to prove that we did not follow the right procedure," said police spokesman Cheryl Engelbrecht.
"We had to detain Mahlangu because of the sensitivity of the case. The bottom line is that we do our work and the courts take decisions."
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