Police ‘torture chambers’ come under scrutiny

Police have been accused of running a “torture house” where they allegedly assault suspects.

In a recent incident, Bafana Msiza, 35, and Bongani Nduli, 27, said they were taken to the old Botleng police station in Delmas, Mpumalanga, which is known to the community as the “Donnner Kantoor” (Afrikaans for torture room or office), where they were allegedly tortured.

The duo said they did not know each other and had met in the holding cells following their arrest on October 26 outside the local court, where the community had marched in support of the family of a young girl who had been killed in the township.

They said they were accused of being members of a notorious gang known as the "yellow overalls" which had been terrorising the community for some time. Members of the gang wear yellow overalls or yellow ANC-branded T-shirts. 

Msiza and Nduli said they were taken to the police station first but later police came and allegedly told them they were taking them somewhere for some “playtime”.

People who live close to the building said they often see police vans driving in and hear people crying out for help.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Ndileka Cola confirmed that a case had been opened against police officers.

“Please note that this matter has only been brought to the attention of Ipid only last night (Monday). The directorate has assigned an investigator to attend [to] it today [and will] engage the victims and the witnesses,” she said. 

Reliving the incident, the duo said they were allegedly beaten with iron rods, open hands and kicked, strangled and suffocated before they were charged with public violence. They are due to appear in court on December 3.

They claim that during the march there had been a commotion outside court and that some members of the gang were present. 

“I was arrested [in] a case of mistaken identity all because I was marching with ANC members earlier that morning and I was wearing a yellow ANC T-shirt. I am not a member of the gang, I’m just an ANC supporter,” Msiza said.

He said after being removed from the cells they were driven around in a police van and ended up at the Botleng police station.

“They told us they were going to show us flames,” he said.

Msiza said the police took Nduli out of the van and went into one of the rooms, which had no windows or roof.

“I heard him scream painfully. The van was about 20m away from the room they went into. I tried screaming and opening the door to try and escape but I failed.”

Msiza said after noticing people watching from across the road, he screamed for help but the police chased the people away. He said he then put his phone on voice recording because he knew the police were going to also torture him.

He said when he and Nduli were taken back to the station they were splashed with cold water and refused medical attention.

Meanwhile, Nduli said he thought the police were going to kill him.

“I told the police that I was not a member of the gang and thought they would let me go but I was beaten to a pulp and strangled and kicked in the face. I was left with a broken nose, swollen eyes and bad bruises all over my body,” Nduli said.

Sowetan visited the old cop shop and found five vacant structures. There were two other rooms which the community said were used as torture rooms by the cops. 

A resident said he had seen cop cars drive into the station and he would hear people crying for hours.

Mamiki Nkosi, 55, from Mandela informal settlement near the station said the community was tired of what was happening there. 

“We just don’t have the power to go there and ask what is happening in there but we know it’s not good because the screams are traumatic for us and our children,” she said.

Police spokesperson Col Donald Mdluli said two cases of common assault were registered over the weekend against police in Delmas, adding that Ipid would investigate the matter.

“A departmental investigation will also be conducted,” he said.

He would not comment on allegations about police using the building to torture people.