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- A former high-ranking police officer will head to Superior Court to face kidnapping, extortion and assault charges.
- He and others are accused of allegedly using different torture tactics on their victims.
- An offer for a stay of the indictment was removed from the list due to lack of urgency.
The case of alleged kidnapping, assault with intent to cause serious bodily injury and extortion against the former Deputy Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Northwest, Major General Jan Ntebo Mabula and others has been transferred to Gauteng Court Upper Johannesburg.
This comes after Mabula, Matome Kgorane, Samuel Sanamela Kutumela, Ismael Dawood, Adam Mahlako Judge, Mpikwa Meshack Makhubu, Mfana Patrick Makutu, and Israel Mdluli appeared on charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm and extortion.
They were members of the Organized Crime Unit of the province.
“The matter relates to the alleged abduction, questioning and assault of Paul Kgoedi, Serious Mthembi [and] Richard Tlakulane Sebuyi for several hours, “National Tax Authority (NPA) spokesman Sipho Ngwema said in a statement on Friday.
Furthermore, the group is also accused of allegedly using different torture tactics against its victims such as:
- Put a rubber tube in the face of the victims to suffocate them;
- Tying a motor vehicle seat belt around the neck of the victims and strangling and dragging them with the belt; Y
- Tying victims to a chair, restraining their wrists and ankles, covering their faces with a damp cloth, connecting devices to the body and applying an electric shock, among other things.
Ngwema said that they also allegedly intimidated and extorted, “R73,000 and R90 00 from Paul Kgoedi’s sister, Nomvula Patience Kgoedi, as well as R90 000 from Sebuyi’s mother.”
News24 previously reported that an indictment prepared by the NPA and obtained by News24 painted “a glaring picture of an investigative team allegedly operating outside the law to extract information from its detainees.”
READ | Kidnapping, Beating and Torture: Prosecution of Ex-Hawks General Positions
News24 reported in October that the Gauteng Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) ombudsman’s office, Andrew Chauke, provisionally withdrew the subpoenas to allow the defendants to submit a request to review the decision of NPA chief Shamila Batohi, to process them.
“On Tuesday, the South African High Court: Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg canceled the list for lack of urgency of a request by the defendants for a stay of the prosecution pending the outcome of their representation before the National Director of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, “Ngwema concluded.
The matter will be known on January 22.
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