Mduduzi Floyd Gumede, 30, from Meadowlands in Soweto allegedly died at the hands of police officers who "severely" tortured him and his friend Bongani Mnguni on Friday - the day they were arrested. The two were apprehended on allegations of possession of car-breaking equipment and driving a car with false registration plates.According to Mnguni, Gumede's sin was "knowing too much by asking the police too many questions".
Douglasdale police station commissioner Director Jenny Naidoo confirmed that there had been a "murder" in the station's cells on Friday, but refused to comment, saying the matter had been referred to the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD). Mnguni appeared in the Randburg Magistrate's Court yesterday and was released on bail of R1 500. He and Gumede's family intend to sue the minister of police. Mnguni said his and Gumede's problems started on Friday afternoon when the police stopped them at the Fourways Mall. Mnguni said the police immediately called for back-up after finding that the car had false registration numbers. "I thought they were just going to give us a fine, but they arrested us," he said, adding that they also wanted to know why "we had so many tools in our toolbox". ICD confirmed that the matter had been reported to them "Once at Douglasdale police station, the police officer who (had) called for back-up started assaulting us. Mduduzi (Gumede) asked why they were doing so, but they told him that 'you know too much'," Mnguni recalled. Moments later, he says, the officers uncuffed them and made them sign papers explaining their rights. According to him, the assaults continued. "They kept on assaulting us, even as we were signing the papers," said Mnguni.
The two were cuffed again before being taken into the cells, where the assault continued. At one stage, Mnguni alleges, the cops covered his head and face with a transparent plastic bag. "After a while, Gumede collapsed and fainted." But this, Mnguni said, did not deter the police from continuing assaulting his friend. "As Gumede was lying down, one of them (police officers) urinated on his face and chest. He then started stomping on his chest with his boots. When he coughed, the cop said to me, 'you see, your friend is waking. He will never die'," Mnguni said.
As Gumede was lying unconscious, the police turned to Mnguni, assaulting him. But as soon as they realised that Gumede had recovered, they again started assaulting him, kicking him all over his body until he fell unconscious for a second time. At that point, Mnguni, who also alleged that the police took some cash from him and Gumede, said he was taken away from the cells. "After about 20 minutes I saw paramedics entering the cells. One of them (police officers) came out after a while. I asked him if my friend was still alive. He said he didn't know. I later overheard the police saying no one must go in there. I saw someone bringing a yellow tape with 'no entry' on it," Mnguni said. He was later taken to Randburg police station, where he opened a case of assault against the police.
Yesterday, Gumede's distraught wife and relatives went to identify his body at the Hillbrow morgue. His mother Cybyl Ngubane said the police had informed her that her son had died of a heart attack. "I was kept waiting at the police station for more than three hours on Friday, but they refused me permission to see him. They then told me that one of the men had died. I knew it was my son. The station commissioner (Naidoo) said he had died of a heart attack," she said. Gumede's aunt Hilda Zonele asked: "Why did they have to kill him like a dog? If he had a gun, it would have been something else, but he posed no threat. Why couldn't they just charge him? Who will maintain his kids now?" Somwahla was inconsolable. "I don't believe he is not alive. I thought it was just an arrest and he would come back home. Even now, it's like I am waking from a dream. "He was so loving, caring... and everything to me. He was a community leader who owned a soccer team. All I want is justice to be done," she said, sobbing.
ICD national spokesman Moses Dlamini confirmed that the matter had been reported to them and that they were investigating a case of assault, torture and murder. He added that the post-mortem results were received yesterday and confirmed that Gumede had died of internal bleeding and spinal cord injuries. "Our investigations are continuing and we will make recommendations to the Director of Public Prosecutions for possible prosecution." Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union president Zizamele Cebekhulu condemned the assault on Gumede and Mnguni. "The police must desist from any act of brutality, especially when a person has been put in custody when he is not resisting," he said.
Source: IoL
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