Man dies after alleged assault by Hazyview police
HAZYVIEW - The family of a victim of alleged police brutality said they would not rest until justice is served.
Zenzele Ndlovu (29) was allegedly assaulted and tortured last week by the Hazyview police in front of his wife and children.
He later succumbed to his injuries and was laid to rest in KaMajika on Sunday.
The police suspected him of possessing an illegal firearm.
Zenzele’s brother, Victor Ndlovu, said as a family, they are prepared to bring the whole community with them to court when someone is arrested in connection with his death.
Sitakele Magagula, the deceased’s wife, alleged she and her husband were woken by police officers who broke down their door at 23:00 on October 18.
She alleged they started to assault her husband with sticks and kicked him, demanding from him a gun he allegedly had - an illegal firearm, according to them.
“My husband kept on telling them he did not have a gun. They searched the whole house. When they couldn’t find it, they took a plastic bag and covered his head to suffocate him. When I begged them to let go of him, they kicked me in the stomach and told me to keep quiet,” she said.
Magagula alleged they took Zenzele with them, only to return after a few hours to ask if he was taking any chronic medication. She gave them painkiller tablets and heartburn medicine, as she thought these might help him.
“The following morning I went to Hazyview Police Station at 12:00 to enquire about him. I was told they were still processing his arrest, I must go back home, and that they would call me. On the same day, we heard rumours that he had died and we asked the police about this. They denied it and told us he was still alive,” said Magagula.
She said she returned to the station on October 20 to request information on his whereabouts. She said she was told to call the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
She claimed the police said they had referred the matter to IPID.
“The police refused to let us see him until one of the police officers told us to go to Bushbuckridge state morgue. Upon our arrival at the morgue, the police there refused to allow us to see him because they were conducting a post-mortem. We only managed to see him through a window to confirm it was him. My question is why were we not informed about his death, and why did they conduct a post-mortem without our knowledge? They also claimed they tried to call me and came to my house, but I was at home the whole day,” she said.
Magagula said they have opened a case against the police.
“IPID has assured us that it will affect an arrest soon, since it has prime suspects. We will not rest until justice is served, because the police are supposed to protect us, not kill people whom they suspect,” she said.
IPID’s spokesperson, Lizzy Suping, said preliminary investigations are under way and they would pronounce the outcome once these were completed.
She declined to provide further details surrounding the matter, stating that any developments during the investigation process are only communicated to the family.