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Three SAPS officers accused of torturing barber Juma Igiranieza were given written warnings and remain on active duty, despite CCTV footage showing brutal abuse.
By MARY-ANNE GONTSANA
- Three police officers, accused of assault and torture in the Wynberg Regional Court, received a slap on the wrist in a SAPS disciplinary process.
- One officer was found guilty of assaulting Juma Igiranieza and received a final written warning. Another officer was found guilty of failing to prevent the result and received a written warning. The third was found not guilty.
- CCTV footage shows multiple officers repeatedly assaulting Igiranieza. They used their fists. They used a baseball bat. They smothered him with a plastic bag. Others cops stood by and watched.
- All three officers, Delmore Manuel, Jermaine Conradie, and Leigh-Ann Maroon, remain on active duty.
Three police officers accused of assault and torture in the Wynberg Regional Court received only minor sanctions in a South African Police Service (SAPS) disciplinary process and remain on active duty.
CCTV footage shows police officers beating barber Juma Igiranieza — who was not suspected of any crime — with their fists, striking him with a baseball bat and smothering him with a plastic bag. Other officers stood by and watched.
One officer was found guilty of assault and received a final written warning. Another was found guilty of failing to prevent the assault and received a written warning. The third officer was found not guilty.
All three officers — Delmore Manuel, Jermaine Conradie and Leigh-Ann Maroon — remain on active duty.
Three police officers accused of torture in the Wynberg Regional Court are still employed by the South African Police Service and are ‘performing public-facing and operational duties’, according to acting police minister Firoz Cachalia.
Lieutenant Colonel Delmore Manuel, Constable Jermaine Conradie and Constable Leigh-Ann Maroon are accused of torturing Igiranieza during a raid at his workplace in Mowbray on November 7, 2023. Their criminal trial has been postponed several times, with the next hearing set down for April.
Since GroundUp began reporting on the case, police spokespeople declined to confirm whether disciplinary action had been taken.
In response to questions from parliamentarian Nicholas Gotsell, Cachalia confirmed that the officers were disciplined in June 2024 but remain on duty. Conradie and Maroon received written warnings, while Manuel was found not guilty.
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CCTV footage published by GroundUp (see below) shows several police officers, including one in plain clothes. At least two actively participate in the assault while others stand by. The plainclothes officer watches and at one point appears to endorse the attack. Igiranieza is punched repeatedly, struck with a baseball bat and smothered with plastic.
Not all officers involved were charged criminally or disciplined internally. In the SAPS disciplinary process, only Conradie was charged with assault. Manuel and Maroon were charged with failing to prevent, stop or report the incident.
An abbreviated version of CCTV footage showing police officers assaulting Juma Igiranieza. The full 11-minute video is available for download. Warning: the footage contains scenes of violence that many viewers may find distressing.
Conradie was found guilty on two charges: unlawfully assaulting Igiranieza ‘with a closed fist and kicking him indiscriminately’, and ‘conducting himself in an improper manner’. He received a final written warning.
Maroon was found guilty of neglecting her duties by failing to prevent the assault and received a written warning.
Manuel was found not guilty on three charges, including failure to prevent, stop or report the assault. Cachalia said this was because the complainant failed to attend disciplinary proceedings on two occasions on July 24, 2024.
No suspensions, temporary withdrawals from operational duties or firearm removals were implemented ‘based on the merits of the misconduct’, Cachalia said. ‘All implicated members are still employed in SAPS.’
None of the disciplinary charges addressed the use of a baseball bat or the plastic bag used to smother Igiranieza.
Manuel is the acting station commander at Steenberg Police Station. Maroon and Conradie are members of the Public Order Police Unit in Paarl.
Igiranieza could not be reached for comment.
Gotsell said the outcome highlighted the urgent need for an overhaul of the SAPS disciplinary code. ‘Whilst they should have been dismissed, they received a final written warning, have not been removed from public-facing duties and have not been disarmed,’ he said. ‘What exactly must a police officer do to be considered a risk to the public?’
He said SAPS was sending a message that police brutality is tolerated and that violent officers can expect protection rather than consequences.
Gotsell added that the Public Order Police Unit is ‘a specialised unit entrusted with crowd control, public safety and the lawful use of force under volatile conditions’, requiring ‘the highest levels of restraint, discipline and respect for human rights’.
GroundUp reported in September that thousands of police brutality cases are reported annually, but very few result in criminal convictions or disciplinary action.
This article was originally published on GroundUp.
