Reeston 7 bail hearing begins

First accused tells court of police torture under interrogation

ONE of seven Reeston men on trial for kidnapping and killing two youths and dumping their bodies down a 100m cliff yesterday told the court how he was severely assaulted by police and later denied medical attention for five days.

The courtroom was packed to capacity, with most of the crowd hostile to the idea of the men getting bail.

Lungisa Kula, 34, from Chicken Farm, yesterday told East London bail magistrate Joel Cesar that on the day of his arrest on April 22, police had fractured one of his ribs when they pistol-whipped him during interrogation.

Kula also told the court his “private parts” were “clipped by pliers” and that he was suffocated with a plastic bag that was filled with “tear gas”.

Kula also told the court that his pleas for medical attention when he arrived at East London Prison fell on deaf ears for five days.

Testifying during his bail application yesterday, he told Cesar that the doctor who attended to him five days after the assault “only looked at my ribs, did not even examine me, and did not even give me any painkillers. As we speak, my ribs are still aching, while I still have visible injuries on my private parts.”

Kula, Thozamile Tafane, 45, Luvo Mpongwana, 33, Sakhumzi Jiya, 41, Khayalethu Mngcongco, 31, Thanduxolo Mbebe, 37 and Thobela Robeni, 38, were arrested last month.

This was after some of them had confessed to killing 18-year-old Lihle Sokutu and his 20year-old friend, Londoloza Ntlombeni in March.

The seven men have each been charged with two counts of murder, two of kidnapping, and one of defeating the ends of justice.

The two youths were believed to have been accused of breaking into people’s houses in Reeston, police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala told the Daily Dispatch a day after their arrest.

Two vehicles, believed to have been used to transport the two to Butterworth – a charcoal Toyota Avanza and a white Toyota Tazz – have since been confiscated by the police investigating team.

Only three of the seven men testified yesterday before the court day came to an end at 4pm.

Kula, a single father of two who depends on plumbing and tiling piece jobs for survival, told the court he had been convicted in 2008 for housebreaking and had received a suspended sentenced of four years in jail.

He also has another three-year suspended sentence for assault.

It was put to him by his defence lawyer Mtimkhulu Mphahlwa that there was a petition from Reeston community calling for the seven to be denied bail.

Kula said such people were “a faction” opposed to their local ward councillor.

He pleaded for bail saying he needed to take care of his two children and his ailing uncle. He said he would plead not guilty when the trial resumed.

He refused to answer certain questions posed to him by state prosecutor Asanda Nolusu, including whether he knew anyone who owned a white Toyota Tazz and a charcoal Toyota Avanza.

When asked whether he knew any of the state witnesses or the two victims, Kula responded: “Can I not respond to such questions.”

Next on the stand was Tafane, a father of two from Potsdam, who works as a security guard.

When Tafane was asked whether he knew any of the state witnesses, he responded: “I prefer not to answer that question.”

Mpongwana, a married father from Komani, testified that the two vehicles in question belonged to him and that he used them for his taxi business.

He had been staying in Chicken Farm since December.

He too refused to answer some of the questions posed to him.

Mpongwana told court that his Avanza, “valued at R300 000”, was bought for cash last year.

However, he refused to tell the court where he got the money, saying: “I rather not answer that question”.

Their bail applications continue this morning. — asandan@dispatch.co.za