By Sne Masuku - Sowetanlive
Wed 06 Apr. 2011, 11:00
"I BEGGED them not to kill him. I begged them to stop hitting him," the mother of a man who died after an alleged assault by police officers said yesterday.
The man's family now regrets having called the police on their "drunk and disobedient" sibling.
Linda Mayeza, 28, of KwaMakhutha outside Durban, died at Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Umlazi on Monday after he was allegedly badly beaten by police on Saturday.
His mother Sbongile had called the police to pacify Mayeza.
Linda Mayeza, 28, of KwaMakhutha outside Durban, died at Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Umlazi on Monday after he was allegedly badly beaten by police
A distraught Sbongile said yesterday she had called the police with the intention of making her son stop his habit of swearing at her and causing trouble whenever he was drunk.
Two police officers allegedly assaulted Mayeza, punching and kicking him. His mother and two of Mayeza's nieces watched helplessly and begged the police to stop hitting him.
"I begged them to stop but they would not. Instead they grabbed me and threw me outside and slapped me hard," she said.
She tried to nurse her son's wounds and gave him water to try to stabilise him, but he was in too much pain. She said her son was the only breadwinner in the house.
"I blame myself for calling those ruthless and evil police on my child," she said.
Mayeza worked as a mechanic at a workshop in Isipingo.
His sister Nonhlanhla, who was not at home when the incident happened, said she came home on Sunday morning and found him unconscious in his bed.
She said his head was wobbly and his whole body was swollen.
"He could not move at all. He wept and was in so much pain I had to hire a car to take him to hospital," the distraught sister said.
"My mother still can't believe what happened. She is traumatised and regrets having called the police."
Nonhlanhla was at Durban Central police station yesterday to open a case against the two police officers after she did not get any joy when she tried to confront the KwaMakhutha police station.
She said when her brother died in hospital a day after the incident, she did not feel safe dealing with the KwaMakhutha police and decided to report the incident to Durban Central in the city centre.
Police spokesperson Vincent Mdunge confirmed the incident and said a case of murder against two police officers was opened yesterday. It would be referred to the Independent Complaints Directorate for investigation.
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