Delayed justice: police torture trial postponed for seven months

Three Cape Town police officers are accused of assaulting Juma Igiranieza, a barber, during a raid at his workplace in Mowbray on 7 November 2023. However, their trial has been set down for April 2026. Archive photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana

• The torture case involving three police officers has been postponed eight times since June last year.
• As far as we can tell, despite clear video evidence that the three officers — Delmore Manuel, Jermaine Conradie, and Leigh-Ann Maroon — committed an unprovoked assault on a defenceless man who was not under suspicion of any crime, they have faced no substantial consequences. SAPS will not say whether they have been internally disciplined, or why they remain on the job.
• The officers are accused of assaulting Juma Igiranieza, a barber, during a raid at his workplace in Mowbray on 7 November 2023. The incident was caught on CCTV.
• The trial was meant to start in July 2024 but has now been moved to April 2026.
• The state says it will consider an application to investigate whether all the delays in proceedings were necessary.

The trial in the torture case involving three police officers will only be heard in April next year.

The case has been postponed eight times between 25 July 2024 and 19 September 2025 “at the behest of the defence”, according to the state. However, this latest delay was seemingly due to the Wynberg Regional Court magistrate’s bulging caseload.

Colonel Delmore Manuel, Constable Jermaine Conradie, and Constable Leigh-Ann Maroon are accused of assaulting Juma Igiranieza, a barber, during a raid at his workplace in Mowbray on 7 November 2023.

The trial was meant to start in July last year. But since being transferred from the Wynberg District Court to its Regional division in June last year, the case has been postponed for representations, plea negotiations and a change of legal counsel.

According to Eric Ntabazalila, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority in the Western Cape, the state has been ready to start the trial since 25 July 2024.

“The matter was postponed on 19 September 2025 to 31 October for accused 1 to finalise consultation with his new legal practitioner. The trial has been reserved for 1 April 2026. The state will consider the application of Section 342A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, should it be necessary,” said Ntabazalila.

Section 342A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 allows for the court to “investigate any delay in the completion of proceedings which appears to the court to be unreasonable, and which could cause substantial prejudice to the prosecution, the accused or his or her legal adviser, the state or a witness”.

On 19 September, Conradie’s new lawyer asked Magistrate Karel Meyer to postpone the hearing to 31 October to allow enough time to consult with his new client. This after the case had previously been postponed because Conradie’s former lawyer failed to show up to court.

Visibly irritated, Meyer granted the postponement but set down the trial date for 1 April 2026. “I still have cases that go all the way up to February,” said Meyer.

This is an abbreviated version of the video showing police officers assaulting Juma Igiranieza. Download the full 11 minute video. Warning: both videos depict violence and most people will find the footage distressing.

Regional magistrate courts are unique in the court system for having the largest case backlogs, according to legal researcher and advocacy officer Mbekezeli Benjamin from Judges Matter, long postponements of seven months were generally unusual.

“Unlike the high courts, which allocate one judge to deal with a trial until the case is finalised, the regional court only has a limited number of days to allocate per trial.

“If, for any reason, the trial cannot proceed and is postponed, it has to go to the back of the queue and be re-enrolled again.”

Benjamin said the court’s backlog of cases were often exacerbated by a general lack of regional magistrates and court rooms. “Wynberg Magistrates Court is a classic example of these factors at play.”

“The magistrate must play an active role in ensuring that a trial is finalised as soon as possible. However, some postponements are beyond the control of the magistrate,” he said.

“There are no explicit limits for the number of times a case can be postponed. However, if the delays are unreasonably caused by the prosecutor, the accused may apply for the case to be struck off the roll,” said Benjamin.

Colonel Delmore Manuel. Archive photo: David Harrison

Constable Leigh-Ann Maroon. Archive photo: David Harrison

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• Cape Town journalist assaulted by police, has phone confiscated – twice 15 September 2025

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