One of the men accused of murdering and burning two KwaNobuhle teenage girls has been brutally attacked in prison — an assault so vicious he had to be rushed to hospital.
The beating happened inside the St Albans Prison remand section, where he has been awaiting trial along with three other suspects.
The four suspects — accused of killing Ibanathi Peter, 17, and Sinothando Malinga, 19 — each face two counts of murder and multiple rape charges.
They cannot be named until they have pleaded to the rape charges.
The men abandoned their bids for bail on Monday.
The case has been postponed to July 30.
The teenagers’ charred bodies were discovered on Wednesday last week on the edge of the Nyosi Wildlife Reserve, near Fourth Avenue in Khayelitsha, KwaNobuhle.
On Wednesday, disturbing videos emerged online showing one of the accused being interrogated and beaten by fellow inmates, prompting correctional services bosses to launch an urgent investigation.
For the family of one of the girls, the videos were difficult to deal with as they again had to look at the face of one of suspects — this time in a video, beaten and bloodied as he sat on a prison cell floor.
In the first video, the inmate is seen pleading with his attackers, who threaten him and vow to hunt down everyone involved in the girls’ deaths.
One voice off-camera repeatedly demands to know why the girls were killed instead of the alleged rapes being reported.
He insists the accused will confess in court and says they will beat the truth out of everyone.
In a second clip, the accused speaks directly to the camera.
He says they had gone out with the girls, their boyfriends and two other men to buy alcohol before going home to drink.
He then claims one of the men forced his way into a room where Ibanathi was with her boyfriend and raped her.
A third video shows the accused being beaten and intimidated.
The attackers shout at him to confess to raping and killing the girls.
Clearly disoriented, he agrees to say in court that he was the one who did it.
The department of correctional services has condemned the attack.
“The national commissioner of correctional services, Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale, has noted with deep concern a disturbing video circulating on social media depicting inmates assaulting another [alleged] offender, purportedly for a crime allegedly committed prior to incarceration,” spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.
“Commissioner Thobakgale condemns in the strongest possible terms the conduct displayed in the footage.
“Such acts of violence and vigilantism have no place within our correctional facilities and are in direct violation of the Correctional Services Act, which upholds the safety, dignity and rehabilitation of all inmates.”
He said an internal investigation had been launched to determine the facts surrounding what had happened, including how a cellphone was smuggled into the facility.
“The offenders involved have already been identified and disciplinary processes will be instituted in line with applicable prescripts,” Nxumalo said.
“Criminal charges will also be pursued where warranted.”
He said as an immediate step, the offenders involved in the assault had been separated to prevent further violence.
“The department of correctional services remains committed to a humane and rehabilitative correctional system,” Nxumalo said.
“We will not tolerate any form of violence or intimidation among offenders.”
For the families of the victims, it is another heavy burden to carry.
A relative of Ibanathi’s, Nadipha Peter, said they had to look once again at the face of the man accused of taking their daughter’s life.
“It’s a lot to carry,” she said.
“Losing Ibanathi broke something in us.
“Every day since we found out what happened to her it’s been pain after pain.
“You try to breathe. You try to keep moving for the sake of the others around you. But it never goes away.
“Now, to see that video — to see the man who is accused of doing this to her, alive, talking, sitting there — it just made everything worse.
“His face is now in our home again, on our phones, in our minds. And he’s talking about what happened. He is opening a wound that we are not even close to healing from.
“We don’t want to comment on the video but what I can say is Ibanathi had dreams. She had a future. That’s what we remember.
“Not this.”
Community activist Thamsanqa Nkevu previously said the accused had abandoned their bail bids out of fear.
“It will be difficult to predict what will happen if these people are let back into the community.
“We expect the justice system to ensure our communities become safer.”
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said such incidents pointed to deeper problems within the prison system.
“Correctional facilities are supposed to be places of order and rehabilitation,” he said.
“But incidents like this create serious disorder.
“Our prisons face many challenges — among them a limited allocation of staff.
“This affects the ability to manage inmates properly.
“We need to take a hard look at how our correctional centres are run because right now they’re not fulfilling their role as places of rehabilitation.”
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the NPA would only get involved in the matter once it had been brought to court by the complainant.
The Herald
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