Bozwana suspects claim torture by cops
Allegations of police torture were made by the two men accused of murdering businessman Wandile Bozwana.
|||Pretoria - Allegations of police assault and torture were made by the two men accused of murdering North West businessman Wandile Bozwana.
Sipho Dludla and Matamela Motapa who appeared in court inside the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre on Wednesday, accused the police of torturing them into confessing to having murdered Bozwana.
“They (the accused) informed me during the consultation that they were made to sign confessions. However, I would like to place on record that those confessions weren’t signed voluntarily. They informed me that they were assaulted, and tortured. Their faces were covered with what appears to be a tube that suffocated them to the point that they had to agree to sign the confessions,” said advocate Victor Nkhwashu, acting for the two accused.
The form of torture alleged to have been used is colloquially called “tubing” and involves covering someone’s head with a plastic bag or some form of inner tubing material.
Sometimes the plastic bag or tubing is filled with water.
Magistrate Magowanbal Naidoo asked if the accused needed medical attention or hospital services and they both said no.
“(Dludla) had pains on his chest but they have subsequently subsided. He got pain medication from another prisoner. (Motapa) had a lot of pain on his lower back which has also subsided,” Nkwashu said.
Bozwana was killed in October while driving with a female companion along the N1 to Pretoria.
A group of men approached the vehicle when it had stopped at the Garsfontein off-ramp and shots were fired into the car. The two accused have opted not to apply for bail and will appear again on February 17.
The media, magistrate, prosecutor and defence attorney agreed before court proceedings that the media could name the accused and film or photograph them but they could not show their faces.
Nkwashu feared for the safety of his clients and asked that their faces not be shown.
The Bozwana family released a statement after the court proceedings: “The family has noted with regret a number of media statements regarding the case and wish to distance ourselves from such utterances. This is still an ongoing murder investigation and we believe that it is best we allow the professional investigation teams to do their work without any interference from any person or group whatsoever.”
A relative of one of the accused, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and his family were not allowed access to the courtroom and were told the room was full.
Pretoria News
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