Marion Edmunds
A MURDER docket has been opened by the police after a Burundian refugee died on the floor of a Home Affairs Department office in Cape Town half-an-hour after two policemen dumped him there.
According to witnesses, Jean-Pierre Kanyangwa was brought in early Monday afternoon, June 2, by policemen who had picked him up outside Cape Town station at 11am. He had arrived in South Africa from Burundi the day before, say fellow Burundian refugees.
The department says the death is to be investigated, but a departmental director, Jurie de Wet, said he was satisfied officials had handled the matter professionally.
Another Burundian, Jose Msabah, told the Friends of Refugees organisation he was in the offices at about 2.30pm and saw a man on the floor. “I asked the man what was wrong. He requested to be taken to a hospital. He told me the police had beaten him. He appeared to be in a bad state and his pants were soaked with urine.
“One immigration official passed by this man and swore at him. I then asked another official to call an ambulance as the man was dying. After some persuasion, an ambulance was called. By the time the ambulance arrived, the man’s body was already cold …”
Burundian refugees confirmed Kanyangwa was picked up by the police last Monday and at the time appeared in good health. “They threw him into the van like an animal,” they said. The refugees are unhappy about the incident and have written to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to complain.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Lindiwe Sisulu heard a different version. According to her information, Kanyangwa was in pain when he arrived and an immigration officer immediately called for an ambulance. The official went with Kanyangwa, but he died en route to the hospital.
Professor Deon Knobel, head of the department of forensic medicine at the University of Cape Town, has conducted a post-mortem. He said there had been no external evidence of Kanyangwa having been beaten.
However, he said that Kanyangwa had haemorrhaged and there was a large amount of bleeding in the abdomen, which resulted from a lacerated spleen, possibly brought on by trauma. He will perform extensive microscopic examinations of internal organs to exclude or confirm the presence of an underlying disease process.
The police say the criminal investigation department will be addressing the matter.
The Burundian refugees in Cape Town have not been told directly about the investigation and are despairing about their future in South Africa.