- The Johannesburg High Court has ordered the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to submit a report next month on the alleged assault and torture of a Nigerian immigrant.
- Silas Ani disappeared during a raid in Springs involving members of the DStv show Sizok’thola in April.
- IPID assistant director Thulani Magagula told the court he had video evidence of the show’s presenter Xolani Khumalo conducting arrests and putting a group of Nigerian men into police vehicles.
A Johannesburg High Court judge has ordered the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to submit a full report on the alleged assault, torture and disappearance of Nigerian immigrant Silas Ani. Ani disappeared during a televised “drug” raid in Springs, involving the presenter of DStv channel Moja Love’s Sizok’thola show.
This is not the first time the channel has come under fire for promoting violence.
The urgent court application was heard on Wednesday by Judge Denise Fisher.
Advocate Magda Bezuidenhout, on behalf of Ani’s family, said, “The family wants to know if he’s alive or not. And if not, where his body is so they can bury him.”
On 24 April 2025, during a “drug raid” filmed by Sizok’thola in Springs, a group of Nigerian immigrants were assaulted, allegedly by the show’s presenter Xolani Khumalo, his crew, and private security. According to a police report read by Fisher, Ani was last seen getting into a black BMW driven by masked men described as “investigators” working with Khumalo. Ani has not been seen again.
Khumalo has previously faced legal challenges. In April, murder charges against him in connection with the death of a suspected drug dealer during a 2023 raid in Katlehong were withdrawn while the state continued its investigations.
Sizok’thola is a reality-style investigative programme on DStv’s Moja Love channel. It is known for its confrontational approach to exposing alleged criminal activity. The show is produced by Siyaya Media Network, which is also cited as a respondent in this case.
During a previous hearing, police denied being present at the scene, but Ani’s family’s lawyers argued that there was video and photographic evidence contradicting this. Judge Fisher confirmed she had seen the footage, showing civilians carrying out arrests and placing people into police vans.
Citing police reports, Judge Fisher said, “An operation was undertaken by a group of people, including security companies and the operators of a TV program on Moja Love, which has as its purpose the identification of [people] suspected of being involved in drug peddling or drug activity … These men, all Nigerian citizens … were taken to an empty flat where they were tortured brutally by being beaten, for the purposes of getting them to confess on camera.”
Judge Fisher said the footage also showed Khumalo placing the injured men into police vans while officers stood by. “The police seem to admit that ultimately, these men, in their injured state, were taken to the Springs police station, where an ambulance was called. None of them were charged.”
IPID assistant director Thulani Magagula was called to update the court on its investigation. He confirmed that police officers were present at the raid.
He described the operation as being initiated by the Sizok’thola team and backed by SAPS. “In any operation, the police must be in charge,” he said. “But in this operation, it was a surprise when civilians were in charge instead of the police.”
He said IPID had video evidence showing Khumalo conducting arrests and placing individuals into police vehicles. “That’s not protocol and totally wrong because respondents two and three [Siyaya Media Network and Khumalo] don’t have legal standing to conduct any search. But in this instance, they did, and that’s unlawful.”
According to Magagula, victims stated that they were naked and beaten with a cricket bat. “The missing person [Ani] was also tortured while naked,” he said. He said the last time Ani was seen, he was unconscious and was with Khumalo and his team, not the police.
He told the court that IPID is still trying to obtain information from Ani’s cellphone provider. “Mr Ani might have died on the spot. I say that because his movement is controlled at Home Affairs and it shows that he never left the country. His personal bank account is also stagnant,” he said.
Lawyer Mfesane Ka-Siboto, represented Siyaya Media Network and Khumalo, while Advocate Siyabonga Tshungu appeared for the Minister of Police.
The judge ordered IPID to submit a report by 8 August to the National Director of Public Prosecutions, and to make a copy available to Ani’s family. The report must include recommendations for further action, she said.
“I hope comfort is given to your client and their family that an investigation is underway,” Judge Fisher told Bezuidenhout.
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