KINSHASA/NAIROBI (Reuters) – Days after Congo announced emergency restrictions to curb the new coronavirus, a police video started circulating online showing an officer in the capital beating a taxi driver for violating a one-passenger limit.
FILE PHOTO: A soldier and a member of the South African police service search a house as they enforce a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus in Eldorado Park, South Africa, March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
The driver pleads with officers as they order him to lie face down on the road. But the punishment is meted out anyway: a sharp truncheon blow to the calves that leaves him writhing in pain.
Sylvano Kasongo, who heads the Kinshasa police and is seen in the March 26 video, sent a copy to Reuters because he said he wanted to encourage others to obey the rules. The force respects human rights, he said.
Reuters was unable to reach the driver in the video, which caused public outrage in Democratic Republic of Congo. The head of the drivers’ union, Jean Mutombo, said members are scrambling to make a living in lean times.
“We call on drivers to respect the decisions taken by the authorities to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but at the same time, we condemn any act of violence by the police,” he said.
As in some other parts of the world, allegations of police brutality have surfaced in several African countries as governments impose lockdowns, curfews and other restrictions in respo