Alex Matlala

Alex Matlala

A Limpopo man had one of his testicles removed during an operation at Lydenburg Hospital after he was brutally kicked and assaulted by police.

Oupa Eliot Malibe , from Practiseer in Limpopo, had been visiting his brother David in Lydenburg when he was arrested for an alleged armed robbery.

Provincial Head of the Independent Complaints Directorate, Tsimane Mackenzie, said preliminary investigations revealed that Malibe was arrested for allegedly being an accomplice to an armed robbery of cellphone airtime and R4000 at a local outlet last month.

"He was allegedly tortured, assaulted and kicked in his genitals by police officers," he said.

Malibe related the events following his incarceration.

"They came to my house and told my family that I should come to the police station for questioning. When I got there, five police officers assaulted me without saying a word and locked me in the holding cells," he said.

"The following day they found me sleeping and poured cold water on me, held me against the wall and forced me to switch on a cellphone they alleged I stole.

"When I refused, they tied me up with ropes and assaulted me with fists while others repeatedly kicked me in my private parts until I fainted. I only woke up in the hospital the following day," he said.

The victim's brother said his sibling was yesterday operated on in his private parts where one of his testicles was removed "because doctors said it would no longer be functional".

Provincial spokesperson for the Mpumalanga police, Sibongile Nkosi, confirmed the allegations about the assault.

Nkosi also said the victim was arrested and kept in the holding cells and transferred to the Lydenburg Hospital after he sustained injuries in his private parts.

She said police have launched internal investigations to identify and act against the "culprits of this unspeakable behaviour".