IT IS quite disturbing to learn that ANC councillor Patricia Mphahlele, who is accused of plotting the murder of her estranged boyfriend, was given preferential police treatment when she appeared in the Lebowakgomo magistrate's court.

It is even more disturbing to fathom the reason given by Inspector Manong Tshehla. He said the reason was because she was the only female inmate and they feared for her safety.

The holding cells are only about five minutes drive to the courts and I think it is highly unlikely that anything could have happened to Mphahlele in that time.

Female inmates are transported with male inmates every day in the same vehicles and I wonder if their safety is not as important as a public official's?

Also, the photo shows her holding a cellphone. I concluded that this is another "perk" she does not deserve because she is a suspect in a murder case.

Any right-minded person will agree that as a suspect, it is not legal for her to communicate with anybody due to the seriousness of her pending case.

It is high time that the government of the day starts owning up to the things that public officials are doing wrong because the communities are keeping a vigilant eye on them. A boiling point will definitely be reached soon, just as it did with the service delivery protests in which some people lost their lives.

Legally as well as morally, a person is not guilty until so proven, but let us please put our feet down and ensure that the law is applied equally to everybody across the board.

Matsimela waga Thoka,Johannesburg