Eight cops guilty of murder after dragging taxi driver behind van
Sister pleased with ruling
MIDO Macia’s sister, Melita Macia, cried bitterly while the judge listed evidence of the horrific injuries her brother suffered at the hands of eight former Daveyton policemen, who were yesterday convicted of his murder.
Melita, who had not attended the proceedings until yesterday, said she would never forgive them.
“I am happy that they will be sentenced for what they did. I hope they will not see freedom again. His death was a terrible blow to us... His three small children keep on asking where their dad is.”
Melita told the media her brother was the breadwinner of the family in Mozambique and they were suffering emotionally and financially without him. The family are set on instituting a civil claim against the police following the conviction of the accused former policemen.
Yesterday’s proceedings in the high court in Pretoria were not without drama, as a member of the public suffered an epileptic fit during judgment. Then the packed public gallery broke out in a quiet cheer as the judge convicted the eight on the doctrine of common purpose.
Judge Bert Bam said Macia was illegally arrested on February 26, 2013 for a parking violation. He rejected the version of accused Meshack Malele that Macia had assaulted him and robbed him of his service pistol.
According to the judge, it was likely that Malele was so infuriated with Macia parking illegally that he and the other policemen wanted to teach him a lesson for his arrogance by arresting him.
He found that some of the accused, who were called as back-up, probably did believe Malele’s version of having been attacked by Macia.
He, however, found that they all either saw Macia being dragged behind the police van after he was cuffed to the leg of the steel bench in the back of the van, or they saw him sitting on the ground while cuffed to the vehicle.
Judge Bam said they did nothing to help him, while there can be no doubt that they realised that if he was dragged, he would suffer serious injuries which could have led to his death.
The judge said Macia sat for quite a while outside the van, while being cuffed to the seat, while all the accused were in the vicinity.
While the accused were mum about what happened to Macia in the cells, the judge referred to the medical evidence which indicated he must have suffered severe blunt-force trauma. This, together with the evidence of the cell commander that he heard Macia being assaulted, confirmed he suffered these injuries in the cell.
He found that seven of the accused were present in the cell, while Malele, who was in the charge office at the time, knew what was happening.
Malele was convicted together with Thamsanqa Ngema, 35, Percy Mnisi, 26, Bongumusa Mdluli, 25, Sipho Ngobeni, 30, Lungisa Gwababa, 31, Bongani Kolisi, 27, and Linda Sololo, 56.
Their bail was revoked and they were remanded in custody until September 22, when sentencing will begin. @ThokozaneMahl: In terms of general justice, #MidoMacia guilty ruling is a victory. In terms of individual justice, the only victory will be life sentences. @ DorianFonley: Eight cops responsible for #MidoMacia’s death found guilty. Thank You Jesus! @ShoeshoeQhu: I hope the case sets a precedent in dealing with police officers who think they’re the law. @Abramjee: Ruling should serve as a stern warning to rogue cops: The law will catch up with you & you can’t be a law unto yourselves. @UlrichJvV: RIP #MidoMacia, tied & dragged behind a police van. South Africa police are guilty of murder! @deethereal: There are people genuinely siding with the cops who killed #MidoMacia. @nykmiyen: Long live our judiciary, in honour of #MidoMacia