BOOK REVIEW
The Street: Exposing a World of Cops, Bribes and Drug Dealers
Corrupt cops raise a dystopian spectre with Joburg terror reign, writes David Gorin
In 2014, three-year-old Luke Tibbets was killed in a drive-by shooting in Westbury, a west Johannesburg suburb epitomising drug-and gang-infested parts of the city where anything goes, and everything goes down – from drug dealers operating openly, to corrupt cops driving by to pick up their share of the spoils. Paul McNally, an investigative print and community radio journalist, uncovers police misdeeds such as fake arrests as well as appalling police brutality involving torture and kidnapping — activities designed not to contribute in any way to crime reduction, but to extort and expedite bribes and ransom. Station commanders are portrayed as indolent and in-the-know, and possibly involved themselves. McNally doesn’t specifically look higher up, but the inference is there and, affirming the book’s premise, recent news bulletins report that acting police commissioner Lt-Gen Khomotso Phahlane is under investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. The Street: Expo...
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