The family of a Gansbaai man, Alwyn Andre Otto, who allegedly hanged himself in prison, says they do not believe the findings by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) after it ruled that no foul play was found in his mysterious death.
According to IOL, Otto was arrested on February 7 for contempt of court for a drunk-driving case that happened in the Eastern Cape and was also accused of abalone poaching.
He appeared at the Hermanus Court on February 8 but died on February 10 after calling his father to ask for a lawyer.
The family found out about his death via a text message from Otto’s sister Natasha de Wet’s friend.
The family believed the police were hiding some information concerning Otto’s death.
‘My brother loved his life’
“My brother never hurt anyone; he has lots of friends. My brother loved his life and would never do anything like that. Till today, if we phone the police, they can’t say anything. They have a lot of stories. For me, it feels police are hiding some stuff away because they never phone back when they say they will,” De Wet was quoted as saying.
But Ipid spokesperson Ndileka Cola maintained that the post-mortem conducted confirmed that he died as a result of hanging himself.
Cases of people who die while in police custody were not rare.
In 2016, IPID investigated the death of a man at Rondebosch police station after he was arrested in the area on suspicion of trying to sell a stolen cellphone.
EWN reported at the time that police were allegedly called and they chained him. But when they took him out at the police station he had allegedly passed away.
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