Officer bashed for 'inappropriate dress' in Mamelodi East
A police officer in Mamelodi East has come under fire for wearing a dress and slippers to work.
Going to the police station for help can be a daunting experience for many: queues are long, staff are slow to perform their duties, and there are reams of red tape to traverse. There is nothing to do but wait - and watch to see what kind of tricks the often wily officers can come up with on that day.
One Mamelodi East resident believed that they were witnessing one such trick when, while standing in line to see the commissioner of oaths, they noticed a woman in a loose-fitting pink dress, a pair of slippers, and an apron signing and stamping people's documents.
The person posting the video wrote that they would not let "the lady selling vetkoek around the corner" stamp their official documents. It appeared that the woman performing the duties of the commissioner of oaths in such casual attire was a vendor with a stall nearby.
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Since the video was first made public it has emerged that the woman in the pink dress is indeed an employee of the police station and a certified commissioner of oaths. It was perfectly legal for her to be processing people's documents. The issue is her choice of clothing, which police commissioner Lieutenant-General Deliwe de Lange called "inappropriate", even while he stated that she was allowed to perform her duties whether she was wearing her uniform or not.
It seems people are not too concerned about what the officer is wearing - or which "extra jobs" she may have - as long as their documents are processed in time.
Brigadier Mathapelo Peters has stated that the issue of appropriate dress at the workplace will be discussed with the officer in question.