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Police officers Mavis Matema (left) and Proud Moyo (right) leave the High Court yesterday

Senior Court Reporter
A MAN died after being tortured by police officers stationed at Sauerstown Police Station in Bulawayo, a court heard yesterday.
A High Court judge heard how Samson Ncube, 20, complained of pain when he was released from police cells alleging cops took turns to assault him with a fan belt and a baton stick.
His father and half brother testified in court yesterday that he had black marks under his feet, on the wrists and arms, between thighs and knees and signs of burns believed to have been caused by electric shocks.

Ncube also had an injury on the back of the head and bled from the mouth as he discharged a mixture of blood and a white substance while a medical report showed that there was diesel in his stomach, Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Maxwell Takuva, was told.

Ncube had been arrested for “malicious damage to property” after a car owned by Norman Saungweme, a businessman from Richmond suburb, was vandalised.

His four alleged accomplices – Sikhumbuzo Magagula, Thembinkosi Shoko, Gift Nyoni and Malvern Van Heerden – were also allegedly tortured.

Prosecutors say the five men’s parents approached Saungweme and begged him to withdraw charges to save them from police brutality.
Constables Proud Moyo, 28, and Mavis Matema, 26, both residing at Sauerstown Police Station, deny causing the death of Ncube, who was found lying dead in his parents’ garden on March 10, 2011, a day after his release from custody.

Ncube’s father, Alexander Phiri, told the court: “I had gone to sell some wares in Trenance when he was released.
He said he had been tortured and the following day I saw him lying facing upwards in the garden and I thought he was relaxing but he was dead.”

Ncube was using his mother’s surname.
His half brother, Israel Ncube, welled up with tears as he gave an emotional testimony, telling the judge: “It’s painful that cops who’re meant to protect us would kill somebody.”

He said his brother told him about the assault as he complained about pain, but did not suspect that it was so severe, until his death a day later.

“He didn’t appear as jovial as he usually was but I didn’t suspect anything bad. We only realised that he had been severely tortured when we saw his injuries after his death,” said Israel.

Saungweme, whose Mercedes Benz was hit with a stone as he was driving from the city centre towards Richmond on March 5, 2011, corroborated Phiri and Israel’s version of events.

“The parents of the persons who hit my Benz came to me begging that I should withdraw the charges because their children were being subjected to severe torture and had had enough of it and I agreed.

“However, I couldn’t withdraw the charges as police told me that Ncube and another suspect would go to court while they released the other three,” said Saungweme.

He told the court the person who was dealing with his case and arrested Ncube was Moyo, although he couldn’t identify the female cop.
Prosecuting, Thompson Hove told how on March 5, 2011, Moyo and Matema were assigned to investigate the malicious damage case and arrested Ncube and his alleged accomplices.

The State alleges the cops took turns to assault him until he pleaded guilty to the charge. On March 10, Ncube was found dead by his father in a garden.

The postmortem report from the United Bulawayo Hospitals showed that he died from intracranial haemorrhage, head injury and assault.
Nozabelo Ndlovu of Cheda and Partners is representing Moyo while Matema is represented by Jonathan Tsvangirai, of Dube-Tachiona and Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners.

The trial continues today with more witnesses testifying.