MARA – A 16-year-old youth, who was arrested and taken from his home without the knowledge of his parents, died in the cells at Mara Police station, where he was locked up with adult inmates who were awaiting trial on charges of serious and violent crimes.

According to a police statement, the youth, who was arrested as a suspect on an assault charge, was allegedly murdered by the inmates of the cell after a heated argument. There is no indication that the police made any effort to assist the young boy. In the first reports based on the police statement, the youth was merely referred to as an “awaiting trial prisoner”, without any reference to his age.

At Mara it was alleged that he was separated from other juveniles and locked up with the suspected perpetrators of serious crimes, on the instructions of the arresting officer.

Upon enquiry, the SAPS’ Vhembe communications office gave the youth’s age as 18 and stated that he was arrested at 03:30 on July 30 on a charge of serious assault. His time of death is given as 08:00 on the same date.

Inspector Thivhulawi Tshilate, communications officer in Thohoyando, upon enquiry, confirmed that four suspects (fellow inmates in the police cells) appeared in court in Makhado (Louis Trichardt) on August 5 on a charge of murder. The case was remanded to August 19.

According to the charge sheet, the deceased had been severely assaulted. The accused include a 15-year-old minor from Zimbabwe, who was in custody on a charge of being in possession of stolen goods, 33-year-old Nkhumeleni Liswoga of Madombidzha, who is awaiting trial on charges of serious assault, Lazarus Nhlanhla (27) from Thembisa, awaiting trial on a charge of attempted robbery and Eric Miami (24) from Tshikwarani Village in Kutama, who was in custody on a charge of arson. Bail was refused to all four.

When the Zoutpansberger interviewed the parents of the deceased, Musilo Elias Molaiwa, they were still shocked at the loss of their son and severely traumatised by what they experienced as unprofessional and insensitive behaviour by the police at Mara, as well as their Ward Councillor.

Elias, who was a Grade 9 pupil at the Muphuta Secondary School at Indermark, was looking after a house of a family member, just across the street from his parent’s home, the night he was arrested. The parents were at no stage informed of the arrest. When they discovered his disappearance the next morning, they saw the tracks of the police vehicle in the street in front of their home. They learnt from other residents that their son, together with three other juveniles had been arrested during the night. Mrs Sawra Molaiwa, the deceased mother, together with the mother of one of the other juveniles went to the Mara SAPS to enquire about their children.

“We said that we had come to see the four children who had been arrested. They first told us to wait, then they said that we must just go away, as they would call us later. When we started walking back to our village, we saw a SAFAS hearse at the police cells. Somebody said that a child from Indermark had died there at the police cells. The police then gave us a lift to Indermark. On the way one asked; “Who is the mother of Elias?” At our home one of them said; “Did you see that hearse at the cells, your child is dead?” I asked why they had not told me earlier. They said that they were not allowed to,” Mrs Molaiwa said.

Mrs Molaiwa said that in the days after the incident they were harassed by police officials who had insisted that they should sign a release form for the body so that they could bury the child.

“We refused to sign. They came again and again. They also brought with them the Ward Councillor who insulted us, saying that we were talking nonsense. The social worker then also came. We insisted that we would not sign anything without our attorney being present.”

According to Mrs Molaiwa a post mortem was eventually only conducted on Friday, August 12, well on two weeks after Elias had been killed. In the mean time, the Molaiwa couple is contemplating legal action against the SAPS for their child’s death, after he had been locked-up along with adult inmates.

Elias was the second of his parents’ three sons. The couple also have four daughters. The burial will take place this weekend at Indermark.