The SAPS police officer allegedly caught on CCTV assaulting Monde Rumbu are still on the job – as are several other off-duty cops who allegedly witnessed the attack.
Gauteng provincial SAPS spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said on Monday that investigations were under way and that no action would be taken against the officers “at this moment”.
“We are busy with the investigation. We need to make sure of each and every fact involved in this case, and then take the appropriate actions only once the investigation has been completed.”
He said there were “discrepancies” in the case and these would have to be ironed out before police could decide on how to deal with the matter.
On October 14, Rumbu and Mdu Ntshalintshali were allegedly beaten up and tortured by 10 armed police officers from the Vosloorus Tracing Unit – four uniformed and six plainclothes officers.
The two were suspected of being involved in the theft of five bottles of whisky and a CD player at Phezulu Lounge in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, last week.
Police allegedly began their attack on Ntshalintshali at his home just after midnight last Monday.
He said they handcuffed him, beat him, choked him, and shocked him “all over my body and genitals” using a stun gun while questioning him about the missing alcohol.
When he told them he did not know anything, he was arrested and taken to the Vosloorus police station, where further torture allegedly took place.
Ntshalintshali said the police officers placed a refuse bag over his head and filled it with water in a bid to drown him. The assault lasted for about 45 minutes before the officers drove to Afrosquare pub in Tsakane, where they are said to have similarly attacked pub assistant manager Rumbu.
The officers demanded that Rumbu open the storeroom so that they could check it out.
In the storeroom a uniformed police officer allegedly assaulted Rumbu while other uniformed and plainclothes officers looked on.
Back at Vosloorus police station, the men were allegedly subjected to four more hours of torture, including beatings, shocks with a stungun and having a plastic bag filled with water placed over their heads.
The men were released without being charged.
Phezulu Lounge and Afrosquare are both owned by Sipho Ntshalintshali, Mdu’s brother.
Peter Jordi of the Wits Law Clinic said that under the circumstances reported, the use of a stungun was “utterly unlawful”. Police were allowed to use the device only in self-defence or when trying to “overcome someone’s resistance to arrest”.
“If the police will do this (torture) for five bottles of whisky, imagine what they’re capable of doing in more serious circumstances,” he said.
The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) – a body mandated to investigate complaints of misconduct and offences committed by SAPS and metro police members – confirmed on Monday that a file had been opened.
ICD spokesperson Dikeledi Phiri said the case was “classified as a criminal case because it involves assault”.
“We are going to investigate and take the docket to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to decide whether to take the case to court.”
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