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For IOL Reporter 
2h ago
Cape Town – Columnist, investigative journalist and Daily Maverick author Jacques Pauw has apologized for his actions at the Waterfront that led to his arrest, jail time and theft charge.
In a statement Tuesday, President’s Guardians The author said he wanted to “correct the mistakes I made in a column in the Daily Maverick” after his court appearance, which contained false accusations against the police and the restaurant management and staff.
Pauw admitted to drinking too much on the day in question, February 6, and that his memory of the incident was blurry. His credit card was rejected and caused the scandal, forcing him to go to an ATM to withdraw money.
Pauw had written that “three policemen rushed me, handcuffed me and dragged me into a backlit office somewhere in the bowels of the Waterfront. They accused me of stealing 600 rand from the waiter. ”
He also apologized for falsely accusing three policemen of taking R1000 in cash from him.
Pauw appeared in Cape Town Magistrates Court last week on Monday on a robbery charge but denies being guilty of the charge. He said the restaurant owner is in the process of dropping the charges against him.
Western Cape Police spokesman Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said: “A robbery case was opened for investigation and a 61-year-old man was arrested on 6 February.
“Appeared in court on Monday, 2021-02-08. No member of SAPS took anything belonging to the suspect. ”
Pauw called on the public to stop any backlash against the V&A Waterfront and its restaurants.
” I had a meeting with the owner of the restaurant and a conversation with a V&A executive this Monday. They showed me and explained certain facts to me. I misbehaved and wish to apologize for my behavior, ” she wrote.
Pauw said he was embarrassed by his conduct, especially “in this age of fake news, propaganda and lack of responsibility.”
Waterfront spokesman Donald Kau said: “We have nothing to add to the statements made by Mr. Pauw.”
Pauw Statement:
I want to correct the mistakes I made in a Daily Maverick column, “I was stunned and stunned when the police rushed me, arrested me, jailed and charged me with robbery,” which appeared last Friday.
I also need to apologize for my actions when I was arrested at the V&A Waterfront on February 6, 2021. I was detained overnight and released at noon the next day with a warning.
On Monday, February 8, 2021, I appeared in the Cape Town trial court charged with theft. I denied this charge at the time, and still do. I maintain that my arrest and detention were illegal.
The Wednesday after my court appearance, I wrote a column for the Daily Maverick recounting my experience as I remembered it.
I wrote the column because I was excited, angry, and humiliated by the whole experience. The column was published on Friday afternoon.
After some reflection and additional evidence, I have noticed that there are errors in the column. Now I want to make things clear.
I drank too much in the restaurant and my memory clouded. The ordeal of the arrest experience and having to spend the night in jail aggravated my emotional state.
I had a meeting with the owner of the restaurant and a conversation with a V&A executive this Monday. They showed me and explained certain facts to me. I misbehaved and wish to apologize for my behavior.
The Daily Maverick column gave me the impression that the restaurant management, the waiter who served me or the V&A Waterfront called the police to arrest me. It turns out that this did not happen. Neither the restaurant nor the Waterfront made such calls and they played no role in my arrest.
The three police officers who arrested me were already on or near the scene after attending an unrelated incident.
They asked what was happening. In the heat of the moment, I lost my cool and acted rude. My own action contributed to my arrest and detention.
I have also now established that the police officers did not take the 1,000 rand in cash that I had with me. They only gave me the proofs on Monday. I apologize to the three policemen for saying this.
The restaurant owner is busy dropping the theft charge against me as there is no dispute between us. The outstanding bill was paid on the Sunday morning before my court appearance, as I explained in the column.
Therefore, I must appeal to the public to cease any reaction against the V&A Waterfront and its restaurants. Neither the restaurant nor the V&A Waterfront played any role in my arrest and detention.
I apologize to the restaurant, the V&A Waterfront and the police.
The V&A Waterfront has done a lot to protect its small and medium-sized businesses, including restaurants, during Covid and subsequent closures, and therefore the organization does not deserve the criticism and attacks directed against them because of my column.
I am ashamed of my behavior. In this age of fake news, propaganda, and lack of responsibility, I must publicly accept responsibility for my own actions and apologize for them. It is right.
I also apologize to the readers of the Daily Maverick and its editor for the misrepresentation of the events in the op-ed.
The full statement from Daily Maverick
Pauw’s original column in the Daily Maverick, which has since been removed:
It’s pay time at a restaurant. The waiter brings the bill. Offer your credit card knowing that there is enough money in your account and that you have used your card that day to make other purchases.
The bank rejects your card, for any reason. There may be a technical problem at your financial institution, you may have forgotten your PIN or something else. It is embarrassing and you have to negotiate with the restaurant manager or owner how and when to pay the bill.
I have a restaurant and it happens from time to time. The diner used to put down his driver’s license and go to an ATM. Or I take your details (credit card number, cell phone number and identification number) and give you my bank details to make an electronic transfer. Only in cases where a diner ultimately does not pay could it be considered a criminal charge, something that has never been necessary.
Have you ever thought that rejecting your card could lead to the commission of a crime? What is guilty of theft and that this could land you in a filthy, smelly holding cell where you might have to sit for two days before being trucked to court to appear on a robbery charge?
Impossible? No, it’s not. Not in our broken and perverted criminal justice system, where blue-clad evildoers roam the streets.
On Saturday night at Cape Town Waterfront, my credit card was declined at a fancy restaurant. When I went looking for an ATM to withdraw money, three policemen rushed me, handcuffed me and dragged me into a backlit office somewhere in the bowels of the Waterfront. They accused me of stealing R 1,600 from the waiter.
Two hours later and with excruciating pain in a thumb that felt like it was broken and the handcuffs were eating my wrists, I was taken to the Table Bay Harbor Police Station, where I was charged with robbery, read my rights and they threw me into a holding cell.
They also gave me a receipt for the belongings that the agents who arrested me found me. Nothing was mentioned of the 1,000 rand in my pocket, which had been taken from me in the backlit room.
It also shows that I had neither my cell phone nor my car keys with me when I went looking for an ATM. He had left them at the restaurant.
The cops told me that they would take me to court sometime Monday, where they would formally charge me with theft. They refused to listen to any explanation and did not accept a warning statement.
A mosquito-infested holding cell with three concrete bunks, a broken shower, a dirty and smelly toilet, and a sink would become my home for the next two days.
It was one of the most hellish experiences of my life, something some law-abiding citizens are exposed to on a daily basis.
I am writing this article not to bemoan my own situation, which is small compared to others, but to illustrate how easy it is to fall prey to rogue elements in SAPS.
I have always had tremendous empathy and understanding for the many good police officers who try to maintain law and order in a violent and crime-infested country. But there seems to be a growing number of rogue and ruthless police officers targeting law-abiding citizens to obtain bribes, enrich themselves, meet their arrest targets, or simply satisfy their sociopathic tendencies.
I am privileged and I have a public personality that others do not have. They are vulnerable and have few resources.
Professor Pierre de Vos, an expert in constitutional law, says: “The problem of wrongful arrest by the police is widespread. In fact, endemic. But it has a disproportionate impact on people who do not have power or social and economic status. The richer and whiter you are, the less likely you are to be wrongly arrested. “
MESS
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