Bozwana accused tortured, court told

ALLEGATIONS of police assault and torture were made by the two men accused of murdering North West businessman Wandile Bozwana.

Sipho Dludla and Matamela Motapa, who appeared in court inside the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre yesterday, accused the police of torturing them into confessing to having murdered Bozwana.

“They (the accused) informed me during the consultation that they were made to sign confessions. However, I would like to place on record that those confessions weren’t signed voluntarily, said advocate Victor Nkhwashu, appearing for the accused.

“They informed me that they were assaulted and tortured. Their faces were covered with what appears to be a tube that suffocated them to the point that they had to agree to sign the confessions,” he told the court.

The form of torture alleged to have been used on the two accused is colloquially called “tubing”, which involves covering someone’s head with a plastic bag or some form of inner tubing material. Sometimes the plastic bag or tubing is filled with water.

Magistrate Magowanbal Naidoo asked if the accused needed medical attention or hospital services, and they both said no.

“(Dludla) had pains in his chest but they have subsequently subsided. He got pain medication from another prisoner.

“(Motapa) had a lot of pain in his lower back, which has also subsided,” Nkhwashu said.

Bozwana was gunned down in October in his car while driving with a female companion along the N1 to Pretoria.

A group of men approached the vehicle when it stopped at the Garsfontein off-ramp, and shots were fired at the car.

The two accused have opted not to apply for bail and they will appear again on February 17.

The media, magistrate, prosecutor and defence advocate reached an agreement before court proceedings began that the media could name the accused and film or photograph them, but they could not show their faces.

Nkhwashu said he feared for the safety of his clients and asked that their faces not be shown.

The Bozwana family released a statement following the court proceedings: “The family have noted with regret a number of media statements regarding the case and wish to distance ourselves from such utterances.

“This is still an ongoing murder investigation and we believe that it is best we allow the professional investigation teams to do their work, without any interference from any person or group whatsoever,” the statement said.