Cop murder accused claims torture

Two of the four men accused of killing police Maj-Gen Tirhani Maswanganyi told the Pretoria North District Court on Thursday police tortured them after their arrest.

   

Nditsheni Daniel Nefolovhodwe, 39, described in detail how he was allegedly repeatedly suffocated with a plastic bag, beaten, tied up, and forced to wet himself after his arrest on June 24.

   

A corporal in the SA National Defence Force, Nefolovhodwe said he had not received any medical treatment while in police custody.

   

He had also not been read his rights during his detention.

   

Ndaedzo Isaac Vele, 29, Tshepo Mosai, 30, Roger Godfrey Moseki, 33, and Nefolovhodwe are accused of killing Maswanganyi, whose body 

was found on June 17 in a field near Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, with his hands and feet bound.

   

This followed a search launched after a police patrol found his Isuzu bakkie abandoned next to the R101. A police uniform and police identification card were found in the car.

   

The State opposed bail for all four accused.

   

The four men face charges of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and driving a vehicle without the owner's permission.

   

Earlier, Vele submitted an affidavit alleging he had also been beaten and tortured by police.

   

-Sapa