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NEWS
TIMELINE
APRIL 13, 2011
Andries Tatane dies during a service delivery protest in Ficksburg after police shoot him with rubber bullets. Video footage of the incident shows him with a bloody torso, stumbling weakly before a group of armed officers. Seven police officers charged with his murder were acquitted last month.

MONDAY APRIL 15 2013

The Star

Tortured and shocked: Prisoners awaiting trial sue police minister

Suspended from balcony Electric wires attached to penis Pepper sprayed Suffocated
CAROLYN RAPHAELY

QUICK
Mpofu out of hospital
LAWYER Dali Mpofu was released from hospital yesterday after receiving treatment for wounds suffered when he was stabbed and robbed. I have been released and I am fine, said Mpofu. Mpofu, who is representing miners involved in last years police shootings in Marikana, North West, was attacked while walking on a beach in East London on Thursday. Sapa

TAKE

AUGUST 16, 2012

The Marikana miners strike is the deadliest show of lethal force by police since the end of apartheid. Thirty-four strikers are killed when police fire on them while trying to control a group of men gathered on a hill.

OUR Grootvlei awaitingtrial prison inmates and two of their co-accused released on bail last month are suing Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa for damages relating to brutal apartheid-era interrogation and torture tactics allegedly employed by Bloemfonteins Organised Crime Unit (OCU). Charges include being hung upside down in broad daylight from a first-floor balcony of the Bloemfontein Tourist Centre (BTC), electric shock torture, suffocation with pepper-spray filled plastic bags, head-bashing, assaults and beatings. The Wits Justice Project (WJP) is in possession of medical reports documenting injuries caused by torture and other evidence corroborating William Dube, Lucky Mametsa, Mzwandile Khani, David Seleke, Davies Musimeke and Sifiso Celes allegations. The alleged torture took place after the mens arrest on armed robbery and burglary charges in May 2010. Dube described being cuffed to a chair in an unmarked suite of the tourism centre offices, wires attached to his penis, and shocked. It was very , very painful. I even wet myself They covered my head with a plastic bag, filled it with pepper spray and sealed it with duct tape. Dube said he agreed to a confession while held by two organised crime unit members by the ankles in broad daylight over a balcony . Khani said he was assaulted and beaten at his home by OCU members when arrested. Two weeks later he was taken to the centre for a second round and shocked repeatedly for almost four hours in front of a woman officer. There were nine or 10 policemen watching, and kicking me. One of them opened my legs and kicked me in my private parts. I was screaming so loudly, they forced a dirty cloth in my mouth. Khanis Grootvlei hospital records confirm a clot-like substance in the penile shaft as a result of being assaulted by police officers.

Traffic offenders arrested

AT LEAST 18 motorists have been arrested for allegedly speeding and drunk driving, the Joburg metro police said yesterday. Five were caught for speeding and two for drunken-driving offences along Chris Hani Road in Soweto on Saturday night, said spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar. Sapa

FEBRUARY 16, 2013

Rian Ramdin, whom police arrest at a club in Boksburg, is shot and killed after he jumped out of the police vehicle and ran away. Police claim Ramdin ignored warning shots, but Joburg Sergeant Raymond Le Roux is arrested and found guilty of culpable homicide last month.

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Man held for fatal shooting

A 23-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested for the fatal shooting of another man in Dutywa, near Butterworth, Eastern Cape police said yesterday. Captain Jackson Manatha said Nceba Mntumni was killed at Sheshegu Location, Dutywa, on Saturday. His alleged killer was arrested later that day. The motive for the killing was unknown. Sapa

Taxi driver Mido Macia is filmed being handcuffed to a police van and dragged along the street. He is found dead in custody hours later. Nine police officers are suspended and charged.

Hawks raid municipal offices

THE HAWKS have seized computers and cellphones owned by the Cederberg municipality in the Western Cape as part of their investigations into corruption, police said yesterday. Yes we conducted a searchand-seizure operation on Friday, as part of an investigation into the municipality in Clanwilliam, said spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko. Sapa

MARCH 7, 2013
A cop grabs a court interpreter in Setlopo Village, Mafikeng, by the neck and drag him alongside a police vehicle after the interpreter gave a boy advice on how to deal with police brutality. The victim suffers injuries to his feet and the accused officer is arrested.

Arrest made in Gasa murder

A 25-YEAR-OLD man suspected of murdering Durban businessman Nhlanhla Gasa was arrested in Groutville, on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, on Saturday, police said. Police followed up leads and they were led to a particular house that the man was believed to be renting, Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge said. Gasas body was found floating in the Tugela River four weeks ago. Sapa

MARCH 17, 2013

Constable Lawrence Motsaathebe is accused of shooting and wounding a woman outside her house. According to the victim, Motsaathebe pulled up to her while she was chatting with a friend, ordered her to get into his car and shot her in the stomach when she refused. The cop faces a charge of attempted murder.

SHOCKER: Awaiting-trial prisoners are suing the police minister for alleged brutality including shocks and head-bashing.
OCUs attempts to elicit a confession from Mametsa allegedly included repeated head-bashing. After three days in Grootvlei hospital, he said, I was sneezing blood with green stuff with rotten things in it. Pieces of bone were coming out of my nose. After being told by Grootvleis doctor there was nothing wrong with him, dentist Dr Tapan Sewbarun diagnosed a broken zygomatic bone and head fracture. He referred Mametsa to Pelonomi Hospital where, Mametsa said, a scan and X-ray showed a head fracture. After these records disappeared, Mametsa was again told there was nothing wrong with him. Dube, Khani and Mametsa laid charges against the OCU and Warrant Officer Jan Basson at Bloemspruit Police Station in May 2010. The case was transferred to Kagisanong but there have been no further developments. Seleke said he was shocked with something like a cow-prod that the boere use for animals when arrested at his house. Though cameras recorded the assaults, he said the monitor and footage were confiscated by police. After laying assault charges against Basson at Park Road Police Station, Seleke lodged a complaint with the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), now Independent Police Investigative Directorate. He was told his statement had disappeared; only an empty police docket remained. Months later, Seleke was assaulted by Basson in Grootvleis reception area in front of his co-accused and DCS officials. A probe was done but the outcome is unknown. Musimeke and Cele said they suffered similarly at the centre. Mthethwas spokesman Zweli Mnisi referred the WJP to Free Sate Provincial Head: Corporate Communication Brigadier Billy Jones for comment. We are aware that such allegations are being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. Their office is the mandated entity that would be in a position to provide you with comment on their investigations. I cannot comment as the investigations are independent from the SAPS. This office can only confirm that the mentioned accused who are making these allegations are currently facing serious charges, namely two of armed robbery and one of burglary at business prem-

EXCLUSIVE

ises. The accused were arrested in the act at the business premise where the burglary took place. The trial involving these accused are (sic) continuing in court on Monday . The crimes are alleged to have taken place between April and May 2010. Raphaely is a member of the Wits Justice Project that investigates miscarriages of justice, located in Wits journalism department. The WJP is in possession of the names of other members of the Organised Crime Unit implicated in these allegations. See Page 13

Kimberley smash claims two

TWO PEOPLE died and four were injured when two cars collided just outside Kimberley yesterday, said paramedics. The head-on collision took place on the R31 about 15km outside Kimberley. A 25-year-old was critically injured and another woman, aged 50, was in a serious condition, said Netcare 911 spokeswoman Santi Steinmann. Sapa

Author Magubane, 83, dies

ACADEMIC, author and anti-apartheid activist Professor Bernard Magubane died at the age of 83 on Friday night, his family said yesterday. Magubane, 83, who spent a large part of his life living outside South Africa, was born in Estcourt and studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, before earning a PhD in anthropology from the University of California. Besides publishing articles and books, Magubane was an ANC activist who, at one stage, lived with former ANC president Oliver Tambo. Kevin Lancaster and Sapa

Identity theft plunges man into banking nightmare

ANGELIQUE SERRAO
angelique.serrao@inl.co.za

A MAN whose identity was stolen has faced a bureaucratic banking nightmare trying to fix the fallout from the fraud. Dumisani Gumede was informed in 2008 that his identity had been stolen and personal loans had been taken out at Nedbank using his ID number. After an investigation, Nedbank cleared him of the fraud. He received a letter to that effect and was told his name would be cleared. A few months later Gumede found out the property he was renting in Fishers Hill, Ekurhuleni, had been repossessed by Absa bank and was up for auction. He wanted to bid for the property and applied for a loan, only to discover he had been blacklisted by Nedbank because of the identity theft.

Gumede has spent years trying to fix the error and get a home loan approved, without success. After numerous meetings with Nedbank his credit profile was cleared of the judgment against him. But as a result of the process he no longer has a credit profile, making it impossible for him to get a loan from any bank. Gumede said he was told at a meeting with Nedbank that he should hire a lawyer to try to sort out the issue. Meanwhile, two auctions for the property he was living in were put on hold to allow him to get a loan. Through his lawyers, he had documented numerous meetings with Nedbank. He had even had a complaint sent to the banking ombudsman. Despite this, Gumede has still not been able to sort out the mess.

IN CRISIS: In 2008 Dumisane Gumede was informed his identity had been stolen. Despite his efforts Nedbank has not fixed the problem. Now hes lost the chance to buy a home because the banks refuse to grant him a loan. PICTURE: MATTHEWS BALOYI
Now, the house has been sold because the sheriff would no longer wait. Gumede said he was told by one banking consultant at Nedbank that his ID number was put into their computer system as a fraudulent one and there was no way to clear this. They told me that when they type the ID number into their computers, it is immediately rejected, Gumede said. He said this meant it was impossible for him to be granted a loan at the bank and when he applied to other banks, he was rejected because of his blank credit history . Every time I go to Nedbank and try to reapply for a loan, they keep on telling me to fill in new application forms and give them banking statements, Gumede said. I am promised this will be fixed and then everything goes silent and I have to go through the whole process again. Gumede said he had been referred to numerous consultants over the years and everyone promised him they would sort out the situation, without results. There have been so many broken promises I have spent R100 000 on lawyers trying to sort this out. He said he didnt know where he would live once the property in Fishers Hill was transferred to the new owner. Nedbank spokesman Thembi Malabi confirmed that Gumede had applied for a home loan and the property was sold to a third party because he could not secure one. Malabi said the bank had provided Gumede with a letter saying he had an adverse listing because of identity theft and he should produce this correspondence when applying for a loan with other banks. Regrettably , the bank is not in a position to lend to Mr Gumede at this stage due to his credit profile, Malabi said.

Domestic workers march for rights

CLEMENT MANYATHELA
SCORES of placard-waving domestic workers and their supporters from around Gauteng chanted and marched in front of the Department of Labour in Pretoria on Saturday , calling for decent work. The workers, some in aprons and maids uniforms, were pushing for the government to ratify the International Labour Organisation Convention No 189 for domestic workers. The convention, adopted by the organisation in June 2011, lays down basic rights and principles, and requires states to take a series of measures with a view to making decent work a reality for domestic workers. But the government has not formally made a commitment to implement all the obligations stipulated in the convention. In accepting the memorandum presented by the workers, the Department of Labours chief director of labour relations, Thembinkosi Mkalipi, said the convention had already been approved by the cabinet and debated and voted on by the National Assembly . The matter is now with the National Council of Provinces and we dont know when they will be done, seeing that Parliament is in recess, Mkalipi said. Some of the issues stipulated include unfair dismissal, rape by employers, a living wage of R3 000 to R4 000 a month, health and safety and retirement or provident funds.

90% of police have driving licences

LOUISE FLANAGAN
louise.flanagan@inl.co.za

GAUTENG police have redone the maths, finding that more than 90 percent of officers have driving licences. Provincial police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said 91.47 percent had a valid driving licence. This followed reports a week ago, based on Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibukos reply in the provincial legislature to questions from the DA, that fewer than 40 percent of operational police officers had licences. Malila said that at March 15, 30 163 of the 32 977 operational members in Gauteng had a licence. This had been clarified in a meeting with Mazibuko, he said. The question from the legislature requested the number of officials with a valid drivers licence, said Malila. The discrepancy might have been created as a result of temporary licences and expired and renewed licences which were not captured and classified as valid drivers licences as requested as per legislature question.

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