KNYSNA NEWS - The video of an altercation between a Knysna municipal traffic official and a civilian on crutches that circulated within minutes after the incident last week, Thursday 5 April, has made national news and caused an uproar on social media where hundreds of conflicting comments have been made.

It was also a point of discussion on radio station Umhlobo Wenene the next day during their breakfast show, BEE, which has a listenership of over five million listeners.

One of the hosts asked a traffic official, Tsepo Matshaya, what the procedure is when dealing with people who don’t have their licences on them, as was the case in this incident, to which Matshaya replied, “At no point should any traffic official deal with a civilian in that manner.”

Not speaking to the media
The man in the video, Alroy Kerspey, together with his wife Mercia (who took the video) have since sought legal counsel in light of the fact that Kerspey was allegedly unlawfully arrested, and they were advised not to talk to the media in the interim.

However, Kerspey’s wife did mention to the Knysna-Plett Herald on Monday 9 April that her husband is in bed rest as per doctor’s orders and that he is in no condition to talk about the incident because recollections of the day upset him – “which is very bad for his heart,” she added.

An anonymous local who witnessed the entire incident said, “It’s very easy for people to pass judgement, especially so when the video was not recorded at the very beginning. The gentleman on crutches threw the first punch and sadly that part was never caught on camera.”

To watch the video and read more, go to our sister newspaper, Knysna-Plett Herald.

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