UPDATE: 'I feel violated and angry': Woman, who was taking selfies while sitting on a bench in Sea Point, arrested

Esethu Mcinjana was in Sea Point last Sunday for a job interview at a hotel at 10:45. She arrived early for the interview and went to sit on a bench on the promenade to pass time.

"I pressed the buzzer when I arrived but no one responded so I went to sit on a bench overlooking the beach."

"She just put me in a holding cell"

She said she was taking selfies at about 09:20 when she was approached by a police officer who asked her what she was doing there.

"Her tone was aggressive. I explained to her that I was there for an interview but was early. She didn't believe me and said there are no interviews on a Sunday.

"She grabbed my bag and started searching it, throwing my things on the ground. My CV, a few of my toiletries and my house keys were in the bag," said Mcinjana.

She took a video which clearly shows the police officers who were searching her bag, a "Sergeant Smith" and "Constable Prince".

Esethu Mcinjana shot this video while her bag was being searched by Smith and Prince.

She says Smith found her house keys with a gate remote switch in the bag. Smith is heard saying in Afrikaans on the video, "I found what I needed to."

Mcinjana said she was accused of being a robber. "She said I used the remote to rob people's cars. I tried to explain that the remote wasn't even working but I was using it as a key holder."

Smith called a police van on her radio, took Mcinjana's phone and made her get into the van when it arrived. She said she was taken to Sea Point police station, handcuffed and shouted at by Smith, photographed and fingerprinted and then put into a cell.

"I tried to show the police officer the e-mail that shows I was there for an interview but she didn't listen to me. She just put me in a holding cell," said Mcinjana.

She says she was only given her phone at 16:00 so that she could ring her mother.

She was told she was a suspect in car break-ins. The police still have her gate remote and keys.

Mcinjana said some of the officers at the station told her that the way she was being treated was wrong.

^{Not only did Esethu Mcinjana spend Sunday night in a police cell, she missed her job interview and a chance at employment. (Ella Ndongeni, GroundUp)}

Her mother, Margaret Mcinjana, told GroundUp that when she rang the police station she was told it was too late to see her daughter that day and that she should go there the next morning.

"When I went the next morning I was only given three minutes to speak to her," said Margaret Mcinjana.

"My daughter left home for a job interview but ended up in jail. For what? She has never done anything wrong. She was looking forward to that interview."

Margaret confirmed to police that the remote switch they had taken from her daughter's bag no longer worked and was just used as a key ring.

'Vehicle breaking implements'

Sea Point police spokesperson, Captain Elizabeth Munro, said Mcinjana had been found to be in possession of "vehicle breaking implements".

However, Munro said, there were "no prospects of successful prosecution as discussed with the senior prosecutor".

Mcinjana says she is consulting lawyers and also intends to approach the Human Rights Commission.

"I feel violated and angry. Someone I expected would protect me, a police officer, treated me in that way and ignored my rights. I spent a night in a holding cell. For what?"

Mcinjana said she was released at 15:00 on Monday. She said she was too embarrassed to get in touch with the hotel people who were expecting her for the interview.

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