“We were sjamboked, forced to kiss each other, made to roll in the dust and told to toyi-toyi. They sprayed us with tear gas and slapped us over and over again. But the truly scary part was when they ordered us to face the other direction and then fired gunshots in the air; we thought they would kill us!”
These were the cries of four suspected zama zamas, who accused BDF soldiers of torture and abuse during their arrest at the Old Matsiloje Gold Mines at around 0800hrs on 10 April.
Looking battered, bruised and completely shell-shocked, the quartet: Bhekithema Ncube, Qaphelisa Ncube, Siyabonga Ncube (no relation) and Nicodimus Munetsi appeared before Francistown Magistrates Court last Friday.
The four Zimbabweans, aged between 22 and 29, were hit with four charges: illegal mining, illegal entry into Botswana, unlawful possession of both explosives and unwrought precious stones suspected to be gold.
With their plea reserved, when given a chance to speak in court, the suspects all cried foul, claiming to have been beaten, humiliated and brutally man-handled by the soldiers who arrested them.
They further revealed they were yet to receive any medical attention and had spent the night in a police cell in absolute agony.
Presiding over the case, Magistrate Thapelo Buang ordered that Matsiloje Station Commander, Oteng Ngada come before court on the next mention to testify on the accused’s allegations.
The Magistrate further ruled the suspects be taken to the hospital for check-up immediately.
Outside court, Bhekithemba, who had used a shoelace to support his arm as a makeshift sling, told The Voice he feared his collarbone was broken.
“The pain is too much; I suspect it’s dislocated. I was also beaten on the eye, as you can see it’s red. My leg was injured too, even though it is not that painful,” said the dreadlocked Bhekithemba, adding when he used the toilet in the morning, there was blood in his urine.
“I do not know how bad it is as I did not go to the hospital,” he said, wincing in discomfort as he gently touched his arm, before the four men gingerly climbed into the back of the police van.
They return to court on 24 April, when Superintendent Ngada will take to the stand.
