Police accused of beating man to death, trying to conceal crime
Autopsy shows Thandile Faleni was strangled and suffocated
A family has accused police of beating a young man to death and trying to conceal the crime.
Thandile Faleni, 23, died, allegedly after being assaulted for more than three hours by police at a house in Silvertown informal settlement in Butterworth on Thursday last week.
His aunt, Thabisa Faleni, told the Dispatch on Thursday that when they went to identify Faleni’s body, morgue officials told them police claimed not to know who they were talking about.
Instead, they said the corpse of an unknown person had been found by police and brought in a week earlier.
“They [police] did not even inform us how he had been killed,” Thabisa said.
“We found out on Friday from Thandile’s friend, who had been with him, what really happened. We immediately went to the Butterworth police station, where we met the station commissioner who confirmed he had been told about a young man who had died at the hands of his officers.”
She said the station commissioner informed them that a case of murder had been opened and the docket had been passed to the Independent Police Investigations Directorate (Ipid).
“He showed us a text on his phone,” Thabisa said.
Ipid acting national spokesperson Sontaga Seisa confirmed they had been alerted to the matter and were investigating.
“It is too early to answer all your questions as we have not yet uncovered the facts to determine the people or police officers involved who may have caused the death.
“Our investigator will strive to keep the next-of-kin updated on the progress of this matter,” he said.
Thabisa said Faleni had accompanied a friend and the friend’s girlfriend from Mchubakazi township to a house in Silvertown.
There was a man at the house they visited but her nephew did not know the man, she said.
“Police arrived and asked people nearby about this man. When he heard police were looking for him the man jumped through a window and ran away, leaving the three visitors in the house.
“The police asked where this man was. Thandile and the other two told them he had escaped through a window, but the police did not accept that and accused them of hiding this man.”
They were allegedly manhandled and ordered to lie down on the floor. She claimed the woman was later allowed to leave but Faleni and his friend were beaten from 5pm to 8pm.
She was told police even used grocery bags to suffocate the two.
Eventually Faleni’s friend was told to leave but police allegedly continued beating Faleni.
“His friend told us he and his girlfriend hid outside and saw a pathology vehicle arrive and Thandile’s corpse being carried out and loaded. It left around 10pm.
“He only informed the family about what had happened the next day.
“They killed him and did not even bother to tell us.”
She said they wanted Faleni’s killers arrested and locked up as her nephew had done nothing to deserve death at the hands of police officers, who are supposed to protect the public.
She said a doctor who conducted a postmortem examination told them the youth had been strangled and had suffocated to death.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Colonel Sibongile Soci declined to comment and referred the Dispatch to the Ipid, saying they had taken over the investigation.
We have not yet uncovered the facts to determine the people or police officers involved who may have caused the death