A 40-year-old man from Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, has died after he was allegedly assaulted by members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The deceased’s neighbour says they were having a drink inside their yard when a soldier asked them why they were drinking and were not inside the house. They were then instructed to leave, while she called for back up.
He says after more soldiers arrived they were badly assaulted late in the afternoon.
Mr President
Sad to report the passing is Collins Khosa from Alexandra, Far east bank, 3885 moeketsi street. at the hands of our SANDF
Our military again? pic.twitter.com/B0HsAOE642
— Madzenga (@NMadzenga) April 11, 2020
A man, who alleges that he was also assaulted and wishes to remain anonymous, says he was later called by the man’s wife in the evening who said her husband was in a bad state and was not responding when she spoke to him.
“His eyes were looking on one direction and you could see he’s not breathing, that’s when we called an ambulance, so a paramedic arrived, that’s when they tried to check if he’s breathing. They said there’s no activity here, they checked something to indicate the pulse, and that’s when they said this guy is no more. When we called the police, the police came, we opened A case of murder, it must have something to do with the beating because the guy was fine the whole day before the soldiers came.”
Police and Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) have not yet responded to requests for comment from our news desk.
‘SANDF using excessive force’
There have been reports of alleged brutality by some SANDF and SAPS members who have been deployed to enforce compliance to the national lockdown.
Last month, Police Minister, Bheki Cele, said his department is investigating 26 cases related to police brutality across the country.
An Ekurhuleni Metro Police officer was arrested in Gauteng, in connection with an alleged fatal shooting of a man at Vosloorus township, east of the Johannesburg.
Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, pleads with law security services to refrain from using excessive force against people.
The graph below provides details of how you can report brutality against security personnel:
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