Three police officers appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Friday on charges related to the torture of a Cape Town barber. (Mary Ann Gonzana/GroundUp)
- IPID has arrested three police officers in Cape Town.
- The arrest follows an assault on a barber at work.
- The barber was beaten multiple times and choked with plastic.
The Wynberg Magistrate's Court heard on Friday that an investigation into torture allegations against three police officers had been completed.
Capt. Delmore Manuel, Constable Jermaine Conradie and Constable Lee Ann Maroon appeared briefly in court after which the trial was adjourned.
The case is scheduled to be transferred to District Court in July.
According to GroundUp, Manuel, Conradi and Maroon were arrested by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) in Mowbray, Cape Town on April 22.
This comes more than five months after barber Juma Igiranyeza was assaulted at his workplace, Perfect Touch Boutique and Salon, in Mowbray, on November 7.
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GroundUp released CCTV footage on November 10 that shows several police officers, one of them in plain clothes, assaulting Iguilaneza. The footage shows at least two officers directly participating in the assault, while others appear to be indifferent.
Iguilanieza was beaten, hit repeatedly with a wooden tool and choked with plastic.
According to the court indictment, the defendants are accused of unlawfully and intentionally committing torture by “assaulting plaintiff Iguillanieza with fists, batons, pepper spray and plastic bags in an attempt to obtain information from him.”
They are currently being held on bail of R2,000 each.
The bail conditions state that none of the accused should have any contact or correspondence with Mr Igilanieza and must refrain from going to Station Road, Mowbray, where the incident occurred.
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When asked in April whether the three accused were still employed by SAPS, Western Cape police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk would only say that an investigation would be carried out but that it was “an internal procedure between employer and employee and will be treated as such. Due process in terms of disciplinary action is ongoing.”
At the time of publication, SAPS had not responded to GroundUp's request for an update on the defendants' employment status.
The case is due to return to court on July 15.
