Outrage as Ipid probes alleged police murder of pregnant woman in Khayelitsha
Nonkululo Fente, a 39-year-old pregnant woman, allegedly tortured to death by police in Khayelitsha drug raid.
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A Khayelitsha woman, who was expecting her second child, was allegedly tortured to death by police officers during a brutal raid for drugs at her tavern.
Nonkululo Fente, 39, who was four months pregnant at the time of the incident, allegedly died during an interrogation by cops attached to the Lingelethu West Police Station on the evening of Thursday, 7 May, in the Level 2 informal settlement at about 8pm.
A family member said that Fente’s mother received the news of her death in the early hours of Friday morning.
They explained: “This was a traumatising incident for the family as Nonkululo’s brother passed away last year and her father passed away the year before.
“What we were told is that there were nine police members, including two females, saying they were looking for drugs and they found six straws. We don’t know what was in those straws.
“Then Nonkululo told the police that was all she had and they thought there were more drugs. Instead of taking her to the station, they started to torture her and I think because she was pregnant, that made her give up more easily.”
According to witnesses, it is alleged that the mom was assaulted by means of having a plastic bag placed over her head and being pepper-sprayed.
The family member added: “She did tell them, ‘You are killing me’, but no one was listening. And when she was unconscious, one of the police guys took a beer and poured it on her face to see if she would wake up.”
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Phaladi Shuping confirmed that they are investigating the matter.
Shuping said: “This matter was reported to Ipid for investigation, and the investigations were finalised. We are waiting for technical reports.”
The Alliance of Citizens for Change (ACC) party president, Masizole Mnqasela, said that the crime of Fente is that she was poor and a woman, stating that had it been a rich person, the raid would have been done differently.
Alliance of Citizens for Change president Masizole Mnqasela.
Image: siyavuya khaya
Mnqasela said: “The police assault people using old policing tactics, under the assumption that the working class and the poor are less likely to have resources to pursue the state legally, pursuant to SAPS’ illicit activities.
“ACC knows well that if this were a rich suspect, they would have firstly obtained a search warrant and secondly they would have handled the suspect with respect and handed them over to the court for prosecution.
“The crime of Nonkululo is that she was poor, and a woman.”
He added that they would be marching to the station on Wednesday at 2pm to demand justice for Fente.
Mnqasela said: “ACC believes that this is barbaric and extremely atrocious that they used them in the first place, especially to a female accused, and killing her and her unborn child is worse than apartheid.
“On Wednesday, we will be calling on them to be immediately placed on suspension and that they must face the full might of the law and be criminally charged.”