A young barber named Juma Igiranieza from Burundi suffered a horrific ordeal during a police raid on the Perfect Touch Boutique and Salon in Cape Town. Footage showed officers assaulting Igiranieza, threatening his life and demanding information about drug dealers and his boss’s whereabouts. The proprietor, who has also been targeted in unannounced police raids, is considering legal action against the police. This incident is just one of many brutal raids on Main Road businesses in Mowbray, leaving victims seeking justice and a chance to rebuild their lives.
What happened during the raid of Perfect Touch Boutique and Salon in Cape Town?
During a police raid on the adjacent Perfect Touch Car Wash, three officers invaded the salon and subjected Juma Igiranieza to a horrific ordeal. The assault was captured on CCTV footage and included a flurry of punches and a stick attack, with the officer repeatedly threatening to end Igiranieza’s life and demanding information about drug dealers and his boss’s whereabouts. The proprietor, who has also been targeted in unannounced police raids, is considering legal action against the police.
In the bustling metropolis of Cape Town, directly on Main Road in Mowbray, lies the Perfect Touch Boutique and Salon. This vibrant hub of activity is where a young man named Juma Igiranieza, 25, from Burundi, is employed as a barber. However, the usual peaceful ambiance of this locale was violently disrupted on a dreadful night of November 7th, a date that Juma recalls with a chill of fear.
The beginning of Igiranieza’s horrifying ordeal was marked by the sudden commotion from the adjacent Perfect Touch Car Wash. Curiously peering through a window, he and a coworker witnessed a significantly large group of South African Police Service (SAPS) officers raiding the place. They were filled with dread as they saw their colleagues being forced to the ground while the officers meticulously searched every nook, corner, and vehicle.
As Igiranieza and his coworker observed the scene from the safety of the salon, the situation took a personal and horrifying turn. An officer noticed him, leading to the invasion of the salon by three officers, forever altering his life.
The unwarranted search didn’t stop at the car wash but extended to the salon where they seized and examined the employees’ mobile phones before proceeding with a physical search. A devastating account from a female coworker, who opted to stay unnamed, depicts a shocking image of the ensuing events. Following the search, the officers isolated Igiranieza, took him to a backroom, and a horrific ordeal unfolded, the screams from which depicted a terrifying tale no one should ever undergo.
Igiranieza, now scarred physically from his brutal experience, narrated the terrifying incident in a later interview. With a swollen face, a lacerated right eye, and a cut lip, he stated that during the assault, the officer continually threatened to end his life that day. Amid a flurry of punches and a stick attack, the officers demanded information about drug dealers and the whereabouts of his boss.
The terrifying assault was captured on CCTV footage, which supports his account. The video displays multiple officers, including one in civilian clothes, assaulting Igiranieza with apparent nonchalance. They unleashed a salvo of punches, repeatedly hit him with a wooden object, and suffocated him with plastic, while the officer in plain clothes passively observed, seemingly endorsing the horrific act.
The proprietor of Perfect Touch Boutique and Salon, who also chose to remain unnamed, voiced his astonishment and bewilderment at the incident. As per his account, unannounced police raids have been plaguing Main Road businesses in Mowbray for the past three weeks. This was the second such occurrence at his establishments.
The owner, originating from Nigeria, voiced a bitter feeling of being targeted as these incidents seem to single out his business. He lamented the constant accusations of drug dealing, despite his earnest efforts to earn an honest living. Following this recent incident, he is contemplating legal action against the police.
Despite the brutal assault, Igiranieza was able to inform his girlfriend and brother, who subsequently took him to Groote Schuur Hospital. A medical report confirmed the severity of his injuries, which included a laceration on his right eyebrow, a damaged lower lip, and swelling around his left jaw region.
This horrific raid wasn’t the only one. A Nigerian man named Thomas Victor, employed at the Perfect Touch Car Wash, was also assaulted on the same night. His account of terror mirrored Igiranieza’s, with around 20 officers, both male and female, storming the car wash, ordering workers to lie down, and then thrashing them in a misguided search for drugs.
Another victim, a South African named Xola, was seen limping around while washing cars. He disclosed that his leg injury was a result of a ruthless beating by the police officers. He was spared further assault only when they heard him speak his native isiXhosa.
The brutal raid occurred a few months after a surprise raid at the adjacent African Taste Bar and Restaurant, where two immigrants were arrested and detained in holding cells at the Mowbray police station for a month.
The Mowbray police station remained non-responsive to inquiries about the incident, and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), to whom the case was transferred, also provided no response. As these brutal incidents continue to take place, the victims are left seeking justice and a chance to rebuild their lives.
During the police raid on the adjacent Perfect Touch Car Wash, three officers invaded the salon and subjected Juma Igiranieza to a horrific ordeal. The assault was captured on CCTV footage and included a flurry of punches and a stick attack, with the officer repeatedly threatening to end Igiranieza’s life and demanding information about drug dealers and his boss’s whereabouts.
The police were looking for drug dealers and the whereabouts of the salon’s proprietor.
The proprietor, who has also been targeted in unannounced police raids, is considering legal action against the police.
Other businesses, including the adjacent African Taste Bar and Restaurant and the Perfect Touch Car Wash, have also been targeted in unannounced police raids.
Another victim, a Nigerian man named Thomas Victor, employed at the Perfect Touch Car Wash, was also assaulted on the same night. His account of terror mirrored Igiranieza’s, with around 20 officers, both male and female, storming the car wash, ordering workers to lie down, and then thrashing them in a misguided search for drugs. Another victim, a South African named Xola, was seen limping around while washing cars. He disclosed that his leg injury was a result of a ruthless beating by the police officers.
The Mowbray police station remained non-responsive to inquiries about the incident, and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), to whom the case was transferred, also provided no response.
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