At a 1 000-strong meeting convened by uBunye Bamahostel at Glebelands Hostel in uMlazi on Sunday, 23 March, residents voiced their rage at the recent alleged assault, torture and killing of a hostel dweller by officers of Prospecton SAP at about 10.30pm on Thursday, 13 March.
According to uBunye Bamahostel spokesman, Mthembiseni Thusi, four residents were watching a soccer match on television when a group of about seven plain-clothes SAPS members demanded entry to their room.
“They refused to produce SAP identity documents or search or arrest warrants and accused the residents of possession of unlicensed firearms,” said Thusi.
One resident worked in the security industry and produced his firearm and necessary documentation. “The police members however, insisted he possessed other guns and began beating and kicking the residents and demanding they produce the weapons.
They were then allegedly forced from the room and pushed down four flights of stairs to a waiting SAP van, which transported them to Prospecton police station. One resident was clad only in his underpants. On reaching the station, the men were divided into ethnic groups.
The men claim a police member then brought out bags used in the torture technique known as ‘tubing’, where the victim’s head or face is covered with a clinging material and the air forced out of the lungs and the victim suffocates and loses consciousness. The process is repeated until information or a confession is extracted or the suspect dies.
The three remaining men claimed they heard screaming from the room the fourth man had been taken to. After a while the screaming stopped and a police member returned and asked if their friend suffered from epilepsy. They stated he did not.
“After being held overnight, the three were returned to Glebelands Hostel without being charged. The fourth man’s body was eventually found by family members after being contacted by members of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) several days later.
At the public meeting, residents demanded to know how they should react if the police knocked on their door. The deceased’s father made an emotional plea for justice, amid further calls for the police concerned to be charged with murder.
The matter is being investigated by the IPID. “A death in police custody is being investigated. At this stage no evidence of torture has been found,” said IPID national spokesman, Moses Dlamini. “Of the three people arrested with the deceased, one reported an assault, alleging he was slapped and handcuffed. The investigation is ongoing and no arrest has been made.”
