Mpuma cops deny torture claims
2014-02-27 21:03
(Nielen de Klerk, News24)
Mbombela - Police officers
investigating a muti murder involving a 6-year-old Mpumalanga girl have denied
torturing one of the accused into confessing to the crime.
They were testifying on Thursday in
a trial-within-a-trial where Sifiso Vilakazi, 25, Thabile Mnisi, 33, and Stella
Zulu, 49, are charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The matter was being heard in the
Nelspruit circuit of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, a Sapa
correspondent reported.
The three are accused of killing
Dimakatso Shabangu, who went missing on 21 April 2009. Her body was found
floating in a river four days later.
The court heard that Zulu was not
acquitted from the crime, but had challenged the confession statement she said
she was tortured into signing.
This led to a separate trial for the
court to establish if her allegations were true.
The court heard Zulu was tortured
with a plastic bag and suffocated during interrogations until she signed the
confession.
"It is not true that I tubed
her to make her confess. I know that she was taken to officer Mabunda for an
interview. I was called as a female when she needed to go to the toilet so that
I could escort her," said Detective Constable Phumzile Shungube, from
Tonga police station.
Defence lawyer Jacques Oosthuizen
asked Shungube if she recorded her work in her pocket book on a daily basis as
required.
She told the court that she
sometimes ran out of pocket books or lost them.
"I noted everything I was doing
on that day as I was busy assisting with the case. I do not know where my
pocket book is," said Shungube.
Torture claims
Oosthuizen explained to the court
that Zulu had told him she was assaulted, threatened and tortured into
confessing.
He said Zulu named Shungube and
other officers.
"She was forced to lie on her
back on the desk of officer Mangane. She lay there and fell down," said
Oosthuizen.
Constable Myburgh Mashabane told the
court he was only part of the team investigating Shabangu's disappearance and
he knew nothing about the torture claims.
"I was part of the searching
team, tasked by my supervisor officer Mangane and I do not know anything about
tubing; I have only heard about it on television. Since I have heard about it
now, I will get more information on it," he said.
Tonga police crime prevention sector
commander Captain Timothy Simon Mbombi told the court that Zulu confessed to
having suffered nightmares because of the murder she and her co-accused had
committed.
"She told me that she
understands the confession because she made a statement to the magistrate. I am
a police officer that can take a statement and give evidence in court,"
Mbombi said.
"I explained to her that she
can call her lawyer or get a state lawyer but she told me that she would
consider a lawyer later. She said 'I am having nightmares and I cannot sleep at
night'."
Mbombi said Zulu told him she would
show him where Shabangu was murdered.
Swelling
Earlier, Nsikazi Magistrate Snowy
Masango testified that he noticed Zulu was swollen when she came to court but
did nothing about it.
"She told me that she was
swollen and I saw that she was swollen. I made a mistake there. I did not
regard it as wounds but swelling. I did nothing to assist her because she was
under police's hands. I trusted them and maybe I forgot to think of taking
action," said Masango.
He said Zulu told her she had been
assaulted by an angry mob from her community.
"I asked her if she had been
forced, assaulted or threatened to make a statement by any police officer and
she said no. I then asked her if the community had forced, assaulted or
threatened her into making a statement to the police and she said yes.
"I wrote it down but I did not
see where she was hurt but she told me she was assaulted by members of the
community. She did not have any cuts," said Masango.
Vilakazi, Mnisi and Zulu have
pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Vilakazi and Mnisi are out on R3 000
bail while Zulu is out on R5 000 bail.
- SAPA
