A Johannesburg High Court in South Africa has ordered the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to produce a detailed report on the alleged assault, torture, and disappearance of a Nigerian national, Silas Ani, during a controversial drug raid filmed for television in South Africa.
The incident occurred during the recording of Sizok’thola, a confrontational reality-style investigative programme, broadcast on DStv’s Moja Love channel.
The show, known for its aggressive approach to exposing alleged drug activity, has come under scrutiny following the April 24, 2025, raid in which Ani and other Nigerian immigrants were reportedly brutalised.
During the court hearing, presiding Judge Denise Fisher expressed deep concern over the incident and ordered the IPID to submit its report by 8 August 2025 to the National Director of Public Prosecutions, with a copy to be made available to Ani’s family.
The report, the judge ordered, must also contain “recommendations for further action.”
In a report by BizCommunity, Judge Fisher was quoted as saying, “An operation was undertaken by a group of people, including security companies and the operators of a TV programme 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 purpose of getting them to confess on camera.”
The victim’s legal representative, Magda Bezuidenhout, highlighted the family’s distress, saying, “The family wants to know if he’s alive or not. And if not, where is his body so they can bury him.”
Citing a police report reviewed in court, Fisher said Ani was last seen unconscious, being loaded into a black BMW driven by masked men allegedly described as “investigators” associated with Sizok’thola presenter, Xolani Khumalo.
Despite earlier denials by the police that they were at the scene of the raid, Judge Fisher confirmed that video and photographic evidence contradicted their claim.
“The footage shows civilians making arrests and placing people into police vans while uniformed 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.”
The PUNCH