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| The Victim |
The
South African Independent Police Investigative Directorate on Saturday opened
investigation into the death of a Nigerian allegedly in the custody of its
police.
According
to eyewitnesses, the Nigerian national was allegedly suffocated to death by the
police in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa.
This
led to a massive protest by some members of the Nigerian community outside a
private hospital in Kempton Park.
An
unnamed eyewitness alleged that brutality from the South African police in a
bid to extort money from them was common.
According to reports monitored on South African news website, eNCA,
eyewitnesses said they saw Kempton Park police officers arrest and suffocate
the Nigerian. Hundreds of police officers were reported to have used rubber
bullets to disperse the angry crowd.
In a video posted online, some of the aggrieved protesters
carried placards and chanted songs in solidarity with the deceased Nigerian.
One of the angry protesters claimed he saw the police officer
who suffocated the Nigerian. He said, “We need no more black police…. Is that
how the whites trained them? As professional police, they are supposed to
arrest and take the person to court and allow the law take its course. We need
justice in this country. Mandela fought for peace and justice, but the black police
are abusing it. Take that from me.”
Police officials, however, claimed that the Nigerian died
after he swallowed drugs to evade arrest.
The IPID spokesperson, Robbie Raburabu, was quoted as saying
the police could not give details but confirmed that the man died in police
custody.
“According to police officers that were involved, the man was
in possession of drugs but swallowed them before the officers could arrest him.
He was convulsing and the officers rushed him to the nearest hospital to try to
save his life but he died inside a police vehicle. The Nigerian community
alleged that the police officers suffocated the man,” Raburabu said.
The body of the Nigerian has since been taken for autopsy.
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