Avatar photo

By News24 Wire

Wire Service


Ipid probing yet another death in police custody

SAPS arrested the police officer who is alleged to have caused the death of three persons.


A police officer, alleged to have caused the deaths of three people in Phuphuma, Ngabayena area in KwaZulu-Natal, had been arrested, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said on Saturday.

According to spokesperson Ndileka Cola, Ipid received a report alleging that an officer had been involved in the incident which occurred on Saturday morning.

It was investigating a case of deaths as a result of police action, Cola said.

“The Ipid’s investigators responded swiftly to the crime scene to conduct an investigation.

“The South African Police Services (SAPS) arrested the police officer who is alleged to have caused the death of three persons,” Cola said.

She added, “Ipid is gathering more valuable information relating to this incident through its investigation process”.

News24 previously reported that Ipid had also been investigating the circumstances around 30-year-old Leroy Oliphant’s death.

He died in police custody in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Oliphant, from Elsies River, was allegedly assaulted by a member of the police’s Anti-Gang Unit.

His family claimed he was treated like an animal, saying “they beat him up until he died”.

Cola said post-mortem results would confirm Oliphant’s cause of death, while IPID continued with its investigation.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.