Police officers fail in bid to overturn conviction for Mido Macia's murder

Sergio Macia, then three, wipes away tears from his mother Biuda's face during the funeral of his father, Mido Macia. Sergio is now eight. File photo.
Image: Daniel Born

The Pretoria High Court has upheld a ruling that found eight police officers guilty of the murder of Mozambican national Mido Macia.

Macia died in police custody in February 2013 after being dragged behind a police van and, later, physically assaulted by police officers. The incident, in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg, was captured on camera and received international coverage.

The Macia family successfully sued the police minister for R6.5m.

Mishack Malele, Thamsanqa Ngema, Percy Jonathan Mnisi, Bongani Mdluli, Sipho Sidwell Ngobeni, Lungisa Gwabada, Bongani Kolisi and Linda Sololo were convicted by the Pretoria high court on August 25 2015 and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment each for their collaboration in dragging the deceased from a moving police vehicle in full view of the public.

“Subsequent to their sentencing, all police officers brought an application for leave to appeal with the Pretoria high court, which was dismissed. They later petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeals, which granted them leave to appeal on conviction and directed that the matter be heard by a full bench,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.

Their grounds for appeal, Mjonondwane said, was that the trial court misdirected itself factually when it found that all the surrounding circumstances, holistically considered with all established facts from which inference was sought to be drawn, were proven against them beyond reasonable doubt.

“In dismissing the appellant's application on Monday, the full bench ruled that there was no justification for interference on its part since the trial court was not misdirected in finding that all officers were present at the scene of crime; they intended to make common cause when they jointly conducted themselves in a manner that amounted to a criminal offence in that, they handcuffed the deceased to a bench at the back of a moving police vehicle on a tarred road with his body hanging outside the vehicle; foresaw that the deceased might sustain injuries that could result in his death, yet reconciled themselves with the danger that might ensue and failed to prevent it.

“Furthermore, that upon arrival at the police station, though being alive to the fact that the deceased sustained visible injuries, [they] failed to summon medical help but instead continued to detain him in that state and subjected him to further assaults at the holding cells,” Mjonondwane said.

A post-mortem report submitted to the trial court revealed that Macia died as a result of extensive soft tissue injuries and hypoxia. These injuries were found by the trial court to have been inflicted by the police officers.

“The full bench therefore concurred with the trial court that the state discharged the onus of proving beyond any reasonable doubt that all accused are guilty of murder under the principle of dolus eventualis,” said Mjonondwane.

“Police brutality must be condemned and this ruling serves as a deterrent, and we hope it will encourage police officers to conduct themselves in accordance with the law,” acting director of public prosecutions, advocate George Baloyi said.