Mandela’s great-grandson says police beat him for no reason

TV presenter opens case after harrowing encounter with cops outside Mthatha

12 May 2021 - 11:00
By Sikho Ntshobane
Mayibuye Mandela, a great-grandson of former president Nelson Mandela, has opened a case of assault against the police.
Image: SUPPLIED Mayibuye Mandela, a great-grandson of former president Nelson Mandela, has opened a case of assault against the police.

Nelson Mandela’s great-grandson, television presenter and political activist Mayibuye Mandela, has opened a case of assault against police officers who he alleged beat him without provocation on the weekend.

Mandela, 27, told DispatchLIVE his legal team was writing to police minister Bheki Cele, national police commissioner Gen Khehla Sitole and Eastern Cape provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Liziwe Ntshinga about his intention to sue the police service for police brutality.

He said he and two friends were driving in a bakkie on a gravel road from Mqhekezweni Great Place outside Mthatha at 8.30pm on Saturday when they were stopped by four police officers.

“A policewoman and policeman started beating me with a stick. They forced me down and I sustained bruises on my face when they put their boots on my head to suppress me.”

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