Nkange man dies in police custody

Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday January 24, 2017 16:22

“We do not rule out a possibility that the man was (either) attempting to flee or committing suicide.  We are still investigating,” Tutume police station commander, Jerry Halahala whose station polices Nkange village told Mmegi yesterday.

The incident happened after the man was convicted of a house breaking offence at Nkange Kgotla.  At the time of the incident the man was reportedly leading the police to another scene where he allegedly committed a break in. In addition to his conviction, the police explained that the deceased, who was well-known in the village, was a suspect in other break-in cases in the village.

According to the station commander, at the time of the incident, there were some police officers who were in the back of the van on guard. Halahala also highlighted that the van that was transporting the suspect did not have a canopy.

The police chief also said that he does not rule out the possibility of negligence on the part of the police.  Insiders have pointed out that there are indications the police might have been caught napping during the incident.

“Like I said, we are still investigating. The investigation will also establish if indeed there was negligence on the part of the police or not. We will take appropriate action if there was negligence.”