Man kills himself in Port Elizabeth police station cells

An alleged burglar hung himself in the Kwanobuhle police station cells with a lace he pulled out of his pants.

Yonela Mkokeli, 21, was found hanging in the police station cells at about 2:30pm on Thursday.

The suicide has sparked an internal probe by police and a criminal investigation by police watchdog, Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).

The latest Ipid statistics show that a nationally 302 people died in police custody during the 2016/17 period.

Police spokeswoman Captain Gerda Swart said that Mkokeli was arrested at 12:30pm on Thursday for burglary and theft.

“The police responded to a complaint of house breaking and theft in Bucwa Street, Kwanobuhle, after community members arrested the suspect. They then called the police and handed him over,” she said.

Swart said that Mkokeli was found hanging from the holding bars inside the cells.

Mkokeli was the sole person in the jail at the time.Asked how he killed himself, Swart said that the circumstances surrounding the death would form part of the investigation but it was believed he used the lace used to hold up his pants.

Swart added that he did not have shoe laces and his belt had been taken away on his arrest, as per standard procedure. No foul play is suspected however an inquest case was opened for investigation.

The Ipid is mandated by law to investigate deaths in police custody and deaths as a result of police actions, among other complaints against the police.

Ipid spokesperson Moses Dlamini said the police watchdog would investigate the case.

“Ipid attended the post-mortem (on Friday) and the preliminary findings are that the cause of death is consistent with hanging - no signs of external and internal injuries,” he said.

This comes only weeks after a man, who was arrested for burglary, died in the back of a police van at the Park Drive Bowling Club in Central.

Police claim that the 26-year-old man had been assaulted by the time they arrived on the scene. He was then placed in the back of the police van and died 10 minutes later.