The security guard who pointed a firearm at a Cape Argus photographer has been given a final written warning.
|||The security guard who pointed a firearm at a Cape Argus photographer earlier this month has been given a final written warning.
Following an internal investigation by Fidelity Security,
the guard’s contract was suspended pending the outcome of a firearm refresher course, expected to start on Monday.
“The officer must pass this course to come into contention for redeployment on the pension contract as this is the requirement to work on such a contract,” said Pieter le Roux, Fidelity’s general manager.
The incident took place on April 2 at the Athlone Civic Centre where a Cape Argus team were reporting on the first day of delays in pension grant payouts at SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) pay points.
David Ritchie, an Argus staff photographer who was taking photographs of the civic centre’s exterior, was singled out by a Fidelity security guard who pointed his rifle at Ritchie.
Shivani Wahab, Sassa’s spokeswoman in the Western Cape, called the security guard’s actions “unacceptable and unjustified” and vowed to take the matter further with CPS. - Cape Argus
daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za