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A reporter's personal story about brush with untouchables

By Stephen Grootes: @StephenGrootes

17 Mar 2010

It's a terrible sight. To see your colleague, the guy you've bonded with, your mate, your brother in journalistic arms, kicking and screaming and shouting for help. He's being held back, five large black-suited men surrounding him, shouting at him, ignoring the legal definition of assault and simply not giving a rat's arse.

President Zuma's bodyguard screams at Stephen Grootes. Photo: Michel Bega/The Citizen, republished courtesy of The Daily Maverick

We've seen the brutality of the bodyguards of the rich and mighty way too many times already. These walking suspenders of South Africa's Constitution seem impervious to public outrage, above the law, violent, angry and arrogant.

You do what any other person would do, you hit "Record", and you run in to help. To no avail. It's the most frustrating thing for a man. You can push and pull, you're using everything you've ever thought of, including your brain. You're shouting, "Why can't we just talk about this", in the back of your mind is that guy in Cape Town who just disappeared for 24 hours. And they just look at you and squeeze harder.

It's humiliating. It's embarrassing. There's something about knowing the other side is stronger than you, more violent, they'll do things you never would and it's sickening to know they will get away with it.

This was my Tuesday morning [16 March 2010]. More importantly, it was Tshepo Lesole's Tuesday morning.

Continue reading the full story on www.thedailymaverick.co.za.

Source: Daily Maverick

Daily Maverick is a unique blend of news, information, analysis and opinion delivered from our newsrooms in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. There are many ways to describe exactly what we do (and for the price of a cup of coffee we’re capable of talking your ears off about it), but the best way to understand the end result is to experience it. Every part of Daily Maverick is free-to-air and no payment is required, although free registration is required for a small subset of functions and pages.

Daily Maverick is run by an independently owned, private company with no affiliation to any other media group (or political party or religious organisation.) Follow Daily Maverick on Twitter at @dailymaverick.

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