A Zungwini resident has accused Vryheid police of subjecting him to hours of torture, including suffocation with a plastic bag, during a night raid on his home.

Mduzuzi Madondo says the ordeal unfolded at around 11pm on August 27, when about nine officers stormed into his house demanding a firearm. Despite insisting he has never owned a gun, Madondo alleges he was repeatedly assaulted, his bleeding leg wound aggravated, and his face covered with plastic until he struggled to breathe.

“At one point I thought I was going to die,” he recalled. “They beat me, covered my face, and would not stop until I lied that the gun was in my mother’s room. Only then did they ease up.”

Officers allegedly ransacked his home without a warrant and later bundled him into a police van, where he claims the assaults continued throughout the night.

At Vryheid Police Station, officers reportedly refused to detain him because of his injuries, but he was later placed in a cell and fingerprinted before being released the next day without charge.

“I felt humiliated and violated. It was as if they had a personal agenda against me,” he said. “I was paraded around in handcuffs for no reason, and I still don’t know why my fingerprints were taken when there was no case.”

Station Commander Mazibuko has since met with Madondo, and a case of assault has been opened against the officers involved. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has also been approached and is expected to investigate the claims.

Madondo says he will not rest until those responsible are held accountable. “I cannot let the police get away with this. I pleaded for my life over a gun I don’t even own.

“People are taken lightly by police because they are powerless and do not know their rights. My story might help another person who might find themselves in the same boat as I.”

ALSO READ: Vryheid: IPID investigates death as a result of police action in KwaCeza

The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.