The case against the nine South African police officers accused of killing a taxi driver, was postponed due to funding issues yesterday. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union had paid for the bail of the accused, but cannot pay for the legal fees in a criminal case. Video footage taken of the incident that took place on the 26th of February this year, shows the taxi driver Mido Macia handcuffed behind a police vehicle and being dragged down a street. Macio, who was a Mozambiqan national, was allegedly confronted by the police because his taxi was blocking the traffic. He later succumbed to his injuries in police custody. The video footage made international news, causing an outcry against police brutality. To discuss the issue of police brutality in South Africa and how such court cases are funded, RFI spoke to Dr Johan Burger, senoir researcher at the Institute for Security Studies.
