25 July 2024
Colonel Delmore Manuel leaving the court in Wynberg on Thursday where he and two other police officers face a charge of torture. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Three police officers facing a charge of torture appeared briefly in the dock at Wynberg Regional Court on Thursday. Their lawyers have been given a month to review video footage of the incident.
Colonel Delmore Manuel, Constable Jermaine Conradie, and Constable Leigh-Ann Maroon are accused of assaulting Juma Igiranieza, a barber, at his workplace, Perfect Touch Boutique and Salon, in Mowbray on 7 November 2023.
GroundUp published CCTV footage on 10 November showing several officers, one in plain clothing, assaulting Igiranieza. In the footage, at least two officers participated directly in the assault, while other police officers appeared unconcerned. Igiranieza was pummelled, struck repeatedly with a wooden device, and smothered with plastic.
Manuel, Conradie and Maroon were arrested on 22 April.
Before the matter was postponed on Thursday, the court heard that the CCTV footage showing the incident was yet to be transferred from a disk onto a flash drive to share with the accused’s legal representatives.
The state prosecutor asked Magistrate Karel Meyer for the matter be postponed for “further particulars” that were still outstanding. These particulars included CCTV footage, which the prosecutor confirmed that they had, but needed it to be on a flash drive.
Outside the courtroom, before the proceedings started, Manuel, and Maroon, appearing to be with family, greeted each other. Conradie arrived later, citing public transport for the delay.
All three accused are currently out on bail of R2,000 each.
We previously asked whether the officers were still on active duty, Western Cape police spokesperson Frederick Van Wyk told GroundUp: “It is our policy to conduct a departmental investigation following any misconduct or criminal investigation against a member of SAPS, however this is an internal process between the employer and the employee and dealt with as such. Due process regarding disciplinary actions are under way.”
On Thursday Van Wyk said: “We will not comment further on this. What I told you before about this being an internal process between the employer and employee is still the same.”
The case was postponed to 28 August to give the officers’ lawyers enough time to view and consult on the CCTV footage.