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Fisokuhle Ntuli alleged torture on Tuesday night, which resulted in his refusal to be brought to court.
Fisokuhle Ntuli in court. Picture: Screengranb – SABC.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has denied allegations of torture made by inmate Fisokuhle Ntuli during the Senzo Meyiwa trial.
Proceedings in the trial at the Pretoria High Court got off to an unusual start on Wednesday when Ntuli accused a prison official at the C-Max high security section of Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre of maltreatment.
Alleged torture
Addressing the court, Ntuli alleged torture on Tuesday night, which resulted in his refusal to be brought to court.
The accused in the Meyiwa trial claimed that officials lied about finding a mobile phone on him during a raid earlier in July, and then moved him to C-Max.
ALSO READ: ‘Gross violation of human rights’: Drama over ankle shackles delays Senzo Meyiwa murder trial
Ntuli also claimed that prison officials denied him phone calls to his family and his lawyer, and took blankets and sheets away from him.
Claims ‘baseless’
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the claims are “baseless and appear to be part of a growing trend by inmates to manipulate the system and avoid accountability for their actions.”
“On 8 July 2025, during a search operation led by the National Commissioner, Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale, inmate Fisokuhle Ntuli was found in possession of a mobile phone, an item strictly prohibited within correctional facilities.”
SENZO MEYIWA MURDER TRIAL: FISOKUHLE NTULI ALLEGES TORTURE https://t.co/oLFB7oA4Bx
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 23, 2025
Questions
Nxumalo said a security official, present during the search, questioned Ntuli about the device, to which “he admitted ownership and confirmed usage.”
“The search was conducted in a professional and orderly manner, and at no point was the inmate subjected to torture or any form of ill-treatment. The offender fully complied with officials throughout the process.
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“The confiscated mobile phone was handed over to the South African Police Service (Saps) for forensic downloading and further investigation. Based on the offender’s conduct and associated risk profile, he was reclassified and subsequently transferred to the C-Max facility, in line with existing correctional procedures,” Nxumalo said.
‘False allegations’
Nxumalo said DCS has observed a recurring narrative in which inmates resort to false allegations in an attempt to evade disciplinary consequences or to secure transfers to different centres.
“Being in possession of a mobile phone inside a correctional facility constitutes a serious violation. It is unacceptable for any offender to deflect blame by concocting stories in an attempt to escape consequences.
“Attempts to weaponise human rights discourse to shield oneself from the consequences of wrongdoing is not only dishonest, but an insult to the very principles of justice and fairness,” Nxumalo said.
State’s case
Meanwhile, Thursday is expected to be the last day of the States case in the Meyiwa trial, with prosecutors presenting their witnesses since the trial began before a new judge in July 2023.
The Senzo Meyiwa murder trial resumed in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Monday after a three-week judicial break.
Meyiwa was shot and killed in an alleged robbery in October 2014, while visiting the home of his then-girlfriend Kelly Khumalo.
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