I THOUGHT I was going to die.
These were the words of Mthokozisi Thwala, the friend of the late Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, when he described what he allegedly suffered at the hands of the police.
Struggling to hold back tears, Mthokozisi told the North Gauteng High Court that he was tortured by police who wanted him to admit that he had a hand in Senzo's death.
He alleged that he was assaulted and suffocated until he peed himself.
He said the trauma started in January 2019 when police officers, Brigadier Joyce Buthelezi and officer Makhubo, fetched him while he was in KZN under the pretense that he was going to attend an identity parade.
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He said he was first suspicious of the police's sudden arrival because they would normally call him a day before if there was a parade he needed to attend.
“They came and told me that we need to go to Pretoria for the parade and when I asked why we must do it now, I was told that the suspects have just been arrested. So I went,” he said.
He said when he arrived in Tshwane, he was surprised that he was the only person there.
“I asked where Kelly is Zandie, Longwe, Tumelo and Kelly’s mother and I was told they are on their way,” he said.
Mthokozisi said he was taken into an office and the two male officers came in and asked him why he killed Senzo. While he was still puzzled by the question, they began to beat him up.
“They assaulted me for a good hour, kicking and slapping me. They kept saying I will admit why I killed Senzo,” said Mthokozisi.
He said that they took out a rope and mat, which they placed under him after they tied his hands.
“They tied my legs and hands together on my back and put the mat thing under my private parts. They then took out a tube and started to tube me with it.
“They closed my mouth and nose and tied it at the back of my head. I struggled to breath. I thought I was going to die,” he said.
The teary Mthokozisi said they took turns doing this for about three to four hours and one of the officers even fell asleep while they were busy.
“They were calling each other “Morena Morena”. The other one who was speaking Sotho kept saying let’s leave him, we won’t get anything from him.
“I don’t know what they wanted to achieve or want me to admit. You could see one is tired while another one wanted to continue. There isn’t anything I didn’t do, I even begged them to stop,” he said.
He said the abuse went on until the following morning. “After quite some time they untied me and removed the mat. I guess they knew that I would pee on myself while they torture me with the tube,” he said.
He said the experience made him lose trust in the police.
