BEFORE JUSTICE IS SERVED?
By Cape Coast News (CCN)
Hopefield:- For years, the community of Hopefield has pleaded for justice, accountability, and basic service from their police station.
If ordinary families cannot rely on SAPS, IPID, the NPA, or the HRC – then where does justice still exist?
For years, those pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Today, multiple families continue to wait, some nearly a year, without answers, without feedback, and without hope.
CCN can confirm that IPID, SAPS communication units, and several senior officers have ignored every formal query sent to them, despite overwhelming evidence pointing to negligence, misconduct, and shocking failures within the system.
The photo was sent to the complainant via WhatsApp by the detective, before he deleted it from his phone.
Below are just some of the cases currently being ignored.
On 15 December 2024, Francolin Baron tragically died in a collision on the R45 near Hopefield. His wife, Lisa Baron, told CCN this week that she is emotionally drained and desperate:
“It’s almost a year now.
The police give us no answers.
We are still waiting.”
This is one of several cases where families have been left in the dark, no progress, no communication, and no accountability.
The Death of Francolin McLaren Baron (34): Still No Answers After Almost a Year
Perhaps one of the most shocking examples of incompetence:
- A man was arrested under a false name and surname.
- He appeared in Hopefield court twice with the same false identity.
- The investigating officer was told by the suspect’s parents that they do not know the person being referred to.
- The officer then gave the suspect’s real name, but never corrected the docket.
After CCN filed a formal complaint to a police commissioner, an “independent investigator” from Vredenburg was appointed.
A few days later, the lieutenant colonel contacted CCN to say:
“There is nothing wrong with the docket.”
This, despite CCN personally being present in both court appearances where the suspect was listed under the false identity.
When CCN asked IPID and the NPA for answers, silence followed.
Man Appears Twice in Court Under a False Name – Investigation Finds ‘Nothing Wrong’
Woman’s Bank Card Stolen and Used – Police Refuse to Open a Case
Another resident reported that her bank card fell in a local supermarket. A man behind her used it to pay for groceries exceeding R300. A cashier apparently handed the card to the floor manager, after someone pick it up from the floor. The woman who lost her card returned within minutes, only to discover unauthorized purchases.
Police refused to open a case.
The investigating officer claimed he would “go make inquiries when he gets time”. Four days later, another officer said he still didn’t have time.
After CCN intervened, the woman told CCN the Hopefield Station Commander, Captain Godliep Adams, first visited her, then the detective who investigated the case..
Video footage identified the suspect. Two photos of the man were later sent to the victim, but the supermarket floor manager and detective first admitted, then denied, knowing him.
The detective instructed the woman not to publish the photos, and even deleted them from his phone, not knowing she had already saved them. Still, there is no progress, and no response from IPID, even after Brigadier Tania Hosking acknowledged receiving the complaint.
The Assault of an 18-Year-Old Disabled Young Man – A Case Destined to Fail
On 5 November, an 18-year-old disabled youth was allegedly assaulted by police officers in Turrell Street, Hopefield. Police initially refused to open the case. Only after media intervention was it placed on the court roll.
CCN has obtained the victim’s sworn statement. But that statement is useless, and the police know this.
Why?
The young man is mentally disabled. He cannot testify, cannot follow questions, and cannot verbally explain events. The police had him complete his entire statement in English, even though he and his mother only speak Afrikaans.
The statement is confusing, incomplete, and would never hold up in court.
Police then refused to interview witnesses.
They told the mother:
“Send the witnesses to the station yourself.”
This is a clear violation of justice. It is the police’s duty to take statements, not a traumatised mother’s responsibility.
Once again, IPID and SAPS communications ignored every enquiry.
A Pattern of Silence and Denial
These are not isolated incidents. Hopefield residents have been complaining for years.
In 2023, the Minister of Community Safety visited Hopefield after serious allegations of poor service delivery. He heard the community’s pain, and then nothing happened. In 2024, the Human Rights Commission held a meeting with residents. Once again: no action, no answers, no follow-up. Even evidence provided to a brigadier has resulted in zero progress.
Meanwhile, the National Minister of Police is suspended for alleged corruption, yet Hopefield police remain untouchable and unaccountable. The community of Hopefield is left to conclude one thing:
The People Are Not Asking for Favoritism – Only for Basic Justice
Hopefield residents are tired of begging for accountability.
They are tired of being ignored.
They are tired of living in a system where cases disappear, evidence is overlooked, police refuse to open dockets, and disabled victims are forced to submit useless statements in a language they cannot understand.
Something is deeply, dangerously wrong. If the authorities refuse to act, then the media must. If oversight bodies remain silent, then journalists must speak. Communities cannot continue living under a station that appears untouchable while families suffer.
This must stop now.
Cape Coast News (CCN) will continue exposing the truth until justice is served.