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VICTIM: Mojalefa Mofokeng claims he and Thabo Lesomo were arrested and severely assaulted by four police officers based at the Swartruggens police station. PHOTO: BAFANA MAHLANGU

Friends Thabo Lesomo, 34, and Mojalefa Mofokeng, 25, said they were badly assaulted by the officers on Monday September 3.

The officers are all stationed at the Swartruggens police station.

Mofokeng said he was handcuffed when one of the officers accused them of stealing his safe with R30000 in it and started assaulting them.

"One of the officers stepped on the handcuffs with such force it left deep cuts on my wrists and nearly dislocated my shoulders," he said.

Mofokeng said he was also hit in the face with a gun holster. He added that this left him with a swollen left eye.

"One officer put two black refuse bags over my head and held them tightly around my neck," he said.

"I could not breathe and pleaded with him to stop hurting me. Instead he used an electric shocker on my upper body."

Lesomo, of Borolelo near Swartruggens, said he was dragged from a local drinking hole by the police.

"One of the policemen said I had stolen a safe with R30,000 from his house. I was taken to the police station where I was handcuffed and assaulted," he said.

Lesomo said the handcuffs around his wrists were so tight his hands became numb.

"I still cannot feel anything in my hands," he said.

He said he spent the night in the cells and that the assault continued the following day.

"They put a plastic bag over my head and suffocated me while they continued to assault me," Lesomo said.

"The following day they called in a white police officer who shocked us using s cattle prod. While he was doing this he kept referring to us as 'kaffirs' and his colleagues, who are all black, were laughing."

North West police spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said he was aware of the matter and added that the case was being handled by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

IPID spokesman Moses Dlamini, had not responded at the time of going to print.

- selebim@sowetan.co.za; mahlanguba@sowetan.co.za

Comments

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Wed May 22 13:19:54 SAST 2013 ::

Sep 25, 2012

Papage

Where is this? In South Africa? I nearly said those police are Kaiser Chiefs supporters, but on the same line, I think they are all mad, hence we don't respect police, if they continue behaving like law onto themselves, instead of helping us, how do we respect them. The police ministry need a deep look of itself, do they really represent what the police should do to the communities? is the minister up to it? is he the right person to head this important department of the state?
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Sep 25, 2012

Printa

tHEY KNOW THAT THEY ARE NEVER TOUCHED BY LAW. U'll see, they wont even loose their jobs over this.
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Sep 25, 2012

spirro

some people still think we are still living in a apartheid era,those days were people had to surffer like that are over maan get use to it
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Sep 25, 2012

Kon-Tiki

R30000 which was recovered from a cash in transit hi-jack that went wrong. The R30K was meant to be used in court as exhibit but now it's gone.
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Sep 25, 2012

Semela

These officers are out of line. They must be dealt with accordingly. Maberethe wanna be.
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Sep 25, 2012

Honeybadger

Its so frustrating to be a victim of theft!
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Sep 25, 2012

scrapprat

All police in northwest need 2 attend anger management course or being expelled
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Sep 25, 2012

Ntumbane

How does an ordinary South African Police officer makes R30K legally? Where did he get this money?From what they earn he cannot save 30K.The fact that he did not save this money in the bank leaves much to be desired.By not putting this money in a bank he really risked what has happened. Someone knocked him off? One of his Police friends told these 4 "Crooks" that their colleague had 30K in his home safe. Because these 4 disappeared with the money their informer told his colleague that he knew who had stolen his money.
Once assualt and torturing charges have been instituted against these officers,charge the one who had 30k in his house with possession of stolen money. Bloody crooks.
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Sep 25, 2012

Iqhawe-Eliqotho

And so we slowly turned our country into West Africa and the Middle East. We develop a system of fear and resentment in our public lead by the "protectors of society", corruption runs our political system and corporate sectors, violent crime runs rampant and it's ok because 'it's just those poor people at least it's not me,' we say.

Ask these foreigners we dislike so much why they left their places, they'll tell you about what happened to their countries. Then ask them why they chose South Africa, because for now it's ok but they ALL agree that the trouble in their countries started just like what we're doing to each other here now.

Fine it's still ok, we may not suffer too much individually now but our kids (abo YOLO) and grand kids may never feel that safety of the wise abadala, that reverance when in KZN of umuzi wenkosi, in the midst of a bustling city the ubuntu of iKasi.

Hamba kahle 'zwe lami, iNingizimu Afrika, ikhaya lami!
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Sep 25, 2012

FATTY

HAAHAHAH!!!! you know what Piyega will say don't feel sorry for them, i don't know why do policemen behave in such a barbaric manner, clearly this is not fair to fellow south Africans, if a person has committed crime or any wrong doing, he should be taken to the police Station whole as he is without the beating or torturing by police men in the street, i wish they can lock them up which is highly unlikely. it's ok people are very good in revenging it will catch up with one of them one of the bad days, watch the space., cause they provoking people to retaliate
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