11 August 2026
The case of police officers accused of torturing Juma Igiraneza could not proceed at the Wynberg Regional Court on Tuesday after one of the accused’s lawyers failed to appear. Archive photo: Mary Gontsana.
The case involving three police officers accused of torturing a barber during a raid at his workplace could not proceed at the Wynberg Regional Court on Tuesday after one of the accused’s lawyers failed to appear.
Lieutenant-colonel Delmore Manuel, constable Jermaine Conradie and constable Leigh-Ann Maroon are accused of torturing Juma Igiraneza during a raid at his workplace in Mowbray on 7 November 2023.
CCTV footage showed police officers repeatedly assaulting Igiraneza, allegedly to get information about the whereabouts of his boss at the time.
The case has been postponed numerous times since the accused first appeared in court in 2024. It was provisionally withdrawn in April after Igiraneza was absent and no interpreter was available. The case was reinstated in May.
On Tuesday, Igiraneza travelled from the Eastern Cape to attend the hearing, and an interpreter who speaks Kirundi was available.
But the matter could not proceed because Conradie’s lawyer was not in court.
Asked by Magistrate Karel Meyer why his lawyer was absent, Conradie said his attorney had told him he would not be able to make it but that “any date is suitable” for postponing the matter.
But Meyer told Conradie that his attorney’s absence on Tuesday showed that “any date was not suitable”. Meyer said the attorney’s no-show also affected the other accused and their lawyers.
“If one lawyer is not here, it has an effect on the other accused with things like fees for their attorneys and appearances,” Meyer said.
This is not the first time Conradie’s lawyer has failed to appear.
Meyer said that if Conradie’s lawyer had been present, “we would have arranged a trial date with everyone”.
The matter was postponed to 21 September.
