Press statement: LHR welcomes sentencing of Tshwane metro police officer found guilty of kidnapping and assault

Lawyers for Human Rights has welcomed the two-year sentencing of the Tshwane metro police officer found guilty of the 2010 kidnapping and assault of six Zimbabwean nationals.

The sentence includes 16 hours of mandatory community service per month and places Steven Ndou under house arrest with strict conditions, finding him unfit to handle a firearm.

“We’re happy to finally have a conclusion to this aspect of the case but would have liked to have seen a custodial sentence, given the facts of the case and the grossly criminal behaviour of the police officers involved,” said LHR’s David Cote.

Two Tshwane metro police officers were initially arrested for the kidnapping and assault that led to the disappearance of Zimbabwean teenager Leon Chimuta but only Ndou was convicted.

The men had been selling cigarettes outside a nightclub when they were arrested. They were then taken to metro police offices in Madiba Street where they were taunted and physically abused for over two hours. Chimuta’s brother, James, was also assaulted when he showed up at the station and tried to intervene. The men were then dropped off one-by-one along the highway outside of Pretoria.

The 17-year-old Chimuta has not been seen since. Efforts to find the teenager have been unsuccessful. He has not returned home and his whereabouts remain unknown.

“This case ties in strongly with the rise in targeting of informal traders around Pretoria and Johannesburg and we hope that this conviction will temper attempts to unfairly target these business people,” Cote added.

Unfortunately, James Chimuta was killed on New Year’s Eve before seeing an end to the three-and-a-half year ordeal. His death is under investigation.

LHR would to thank consultant and former LHR colleague Louis van der Merwe for his efforts in this case.