A year later, still no arrests in alleged SAPS hit-and-run of WC College of Nursing student

No arrests have been made and no one charged for the death of Nicolin Davids, one of four deaths in Heidelberg to be investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

Davids, a 26-year-old student, had attended a sports day at the Heidelberg sports grounds. However, he never made it home. On Sunday 27 October 2019 around 1.30am a homeless man collecting tin cans on the field stumbled across his lifeless body.

At the time, an on-duty security guard had told police investigating Davids’ death that he had seen a police truck speeding from the spot where the student’s body was found.

A suspect was arrested, but later released. The incident has set off a wave of anger with residents accusing the SAPS of protecting its own. One of the tyres of the SAPS truck was later found to have been replaced, but the original tyre was traced a week later. 

IPID is continuing an investigation into Davids’ death. His distraught parents, Esmerelda and Hendrick Liebenberg, told Maverick Citizen “we are still devastated and cannot talk about the incident. On Tuesday it is a year since the [death] of our child and we are still waiting for justice.”

A family member told Maverick Citizen it was puzzling that no one had been arrested in connection with Davids’ death. The family is of the view that if the crime had been committed by someone with no ties to the police he or she would have been arrested, charged and probably sentenced.

“Early this month, IPID investigator Mario September along with South African Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen visited the parents. September told the parents the case has been finalised and referred for a decision to the director of public prosecutions,” the family member said.

The four deaths being investigated include those of Jan Esau, 51, found hanged in police cells on Saturday 3 October 2020; Henry October, 42, who died on Wednesday 30 September 2020 in George hospital after his arrest on drunkenness charges four days earlier; and Gerald Esau, 45, arrested on a charge of drunkenness in 2015, who was assaulted and after being in a coma for eight months, eventually succumbed to his injuries in 2016.

Local ward councillor James Gelderbloem explained that Jan Esau was a psychiatric patient who suffered from epilepsy. On the day of his arrest, his family called the police to take him into custody so that he could “calm down”. Hours later the family received a distressing call informing them that Esau had commited suicide in the holding cells.

At the time of the alleged suicide, police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie confirmed that Esau had hanged himself behind a cell door.

Recalling the traumatic events that followed Henry October’s arrest, his sister, Lisa Oktober, said: “My brother was drunk when he was arrested. The following morning, he returned home and told me that police officers assaulted him. He went to hospital and the Sunday morning he was released.”

On Monday 28 September October was rushed to George hospital and after X-rays were taken doctors informed the family that October needed emergency surgery.

“Unfortunately, my brother didn’t make it and the doctor told me his small intestine was damaged as a result of continuing kicking into his stomach.

“Early this month IPID took a statement from me and other people. All that I want is that the police officers who allegedly assaulted my brother, that led to his death, be arrested and dragged to court,” she said.

Meanwhile, the death of Gerald Esau, 45, still remains a mystery. 

Esau was arrested for drunkenness in 2015. A day after his arrest his family discovered he had been admitted to George Hospital after being found unconscious by officers during the night shift change. He died eight months later, having never regained consciousness. Medical evidence indicated his death was due to a blunt force head injury.

Ward councillor Gelderbloem, expressing his anger at the spate of unsolved murders in Heidelberg, said there appeared to be a pattern of people dying at the hands of police officers. The trust in police in the area was “sub-zero”, he said.

“The fact that nearly a year has since lapsed in two cases implies there is a cover-up and people preventing that justice prevail. It also sends out a message that police in Heidelberg cannot be trusted,” Gelderbloem said.

Chris Nissen of the SAHRC said four questionable deaths allegedly at the hands of SAPS were “of serious concern”. The Davids family had been informed by IPID that the docket in the matter of their son’s death had been handed to the director of public prosecutions.

Nissen said it was vital that matters regarding alleged police brutality were speedily finalised. SAPS should also embark on a campaign to rid its ranks of criminals who tarnish the service’s reputation.

IPID spokesperson Ndileka Coca indicated that she was still awaiting information on Maverick Citizen’s inquiry about the four deaths. MC