Painful Facts
Courts, the only institution we still trust, must tackle
police torture
Torture has become routine within the Barberton police
station and probably in the service as a whole.
In the early 2000s I wrote a story that landed me in the
can – jail. This was a policeman’s revenge after I had published a story
implicating him and a friend in the robbery and kidnapping of a sangoma.
But if this “good” officer thought he was teaching me a
lesson, he was sadly mistaken.
After the cell door had clanked shut, instead of being
given the expected bad treatment by the others in the cell – you know, “hey
give us a cigarette…” – I was treated to a whole night of valuable information
on the torture methods of the then Barberton CID members.
Naturally, when other cops heard I’d been incarcerated,
they were not too happy with their colleague, as they knew the awaiting-trial
suspects would surely have briefed me on their own experiences.
Ah! The power of being a well-known and respected
journalist.
This incident came to mind recently with news that seven
Barberton CID officers – yes seven – are to face assault charges after sharing
their torture tactics with an armed robbery suspect. They are scheduled to
stand trial on May 3.
Calling these guys CIDs (Criminal Investigation
Department) is a misnomer. Instead they should be called STDs, (Suspect Torture
Department).
Every year in Barberton at least two police officers face
charges of assaulting suspects. What is more disturbing is that invariably they
are let off on some technicality; not surprising, since their colleagues are
the ones who take the complainant’s statement.
Demonstrating just how brazen the cops have become,
Melusi Mahlalela was being taken to court on the morning of September 22 (he’d
been arrested the previous day on a charge of pointing a fire arm), when the
detective escorting him to court, one Bheki Nkosi, was ordered by a colleague
to bring Mahlalela upstairs instead – “so
he can tell us the truth”.
The upstairs truth session began at 9:30am and lasted
until 1:30pm. During that time, Mahlalela says, seven policemen took turns
torturing “the truth” out of him.
Remember my friend Lieutenant-Colonel Dries Joubert? Yes,
the one who denied that Barberton has a drug problem. Well, Joubert is alleged
to have said “moer him!” when he walked in to check how the interrogation was
coming along!
After his four-hour truth session, Mahlalela was dumped
back in his cell.
Downstairs, police officers, when alerted by other
detainees to the “dying” man in their cell, said they’d call an ambulance, but
it never came. Only when the evening shift came on duty was an ambulance
summoned. A policeman was heard to remark: “There’s no way we’re having this
guy die here on our shift!”
No doubt the cops will deny his story, but how can one
not believe it? Maybe, for a start, the
police should be asked to explain: how come Mahlalela did not appear before
court on that September 22 morning – and instead ended up in hospital for a
month-and-a-half?
So, what can be done about a situation where torture has
apparently become routine within the Barberton police and probably in the
service as a whole?
The only way this country can hope to put a stop to
police torture, is for the judiciary to step up and start prosecuting these
rogue elements. Continually letting them off on technicalities is clearly
sending the wrong message.
The courts seem to be the only institution that we can
still trust. God knows, all others are plagued with problems. Home Affairs
stands out as another example.
The courts really need to look beyond the statements
submitted as evidence by the police. After all, why would someone wake up one
day and decide to charge seven police officers with assault?
Why should we be concerned about this matter? If the
police are not brought to book for their torturers’ ways, tomorrow it could be
you or me instead of just the “criminal class”.
Posted by Jazzie at 8:47 PM
