Just when you think you’ve heard it all, an alleged robber testifies under oath that police assaulted him by placing handcuffs on his wrists.
Mr. Mongezi Mdluli appeared in the Circuit High Court in Mbombela last week on numerous charges that include theft, housebreak and murder. He and his two co-accused, Messrs. Boet Boet Nkosi and Whitey Lekhoane allegedly embarked on a robbery spree between February 17 2013 and February 25, 2013.
Mdluli’s comment was made during a trial-within-a-trial procedure when the admissability of his police statement on one of the robberies was placed in dispute. Mdluli averred that he did not make the statement voluntarily and that he was assaulted by the police. “They kicked me,” he said.
The state prosecutor put the following question to Mdluli: “Sir, apart from kicking you, how else were you assaulted?”
“They also handcuffed me.” Mdluli answered.
The case was postponed to May 20, 2015. The police statement that was question, was found by the court to be admissable evidence on Friday.
