Police minister apologises to principal in Cwecwe case

POLICE Minister Senzo Mchunu has apologised to Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse after wrongly identifying him as a suspect in the rape of a 7-year-old girl named Cwecwe in Matatiele, Eastern Cape.

- SIMON MAJADIBODU

In a letter addressed to AfriForum advocate Gerrie Nel, who is providing legal assistance to Pieterse, Mchunu admitted his department made an error in a statement issued on March 29.

The statement incorrectly identified “three individuals, including the school principal,” as suspects in the rape case involving a child at the school, known as the “Cwecwe case”.

“I have human and personal empathy for your client and any other person who might have been wrongly fingered as a suspect,” Mchunu wrote. “I categorically state that I never at any stage had an intention to defame your client or any other person for that matter.”

Mchunu said he had authorised the release of the statement based on information presented to him at the time, which he believed to be accurate. “It later emerged that this information was inaccurate, a matter that will be addressed internally by the National Commissioner of Police.”