Thirty-nine year old Tanzanian national, Isakwisa Atupele Mwamasage, known in the Rastafarian community as ‘ Ras Isa’, died in the presence of two police officers last Thursday night, 28 August 2025, in the Cape Town suburb of Mowbray where he was resident.
According to IOL News the Tanzanian Cape Community vice chairperson, who asked not to be named, said Ras Isa was a shoemaker was well known in the area and was in the shop that he worked from when the police attacked him.
“The police went to search him; they suspected that he swallowed drugs, they manhandled him and pinned him down. We could see how the two policemen were sitting on him, and he was in the middle. We could only see from the waist down. It looked like he was strangled; he was not crying or making movements, he was just kicking his legs, and then peed on himself, and then stopped moving” said the eyewitness.
The incident was filmed and widely circulated on social media.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the incident to IOL and said an autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of death.
“Preliminary investigations indicated that Mowbray police conducted stop-and-search operations on Thursday, 28 August 2025. They noticed a suspicious man near St Peters Street.
“It is alleged that when the police members approached the man, he took a small quantity of drugs which was in his possession and swallowed them. The members apprehended the man and detained him for possession of drugs. He complained of severe pains and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died. As a result, an inquest was registered for further investigation”.
Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile said the docket will be investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
“If they are found to have done this, we will take steps. We police based on human rights, dignity, and respect, and make sure that there is professionalism when we do our jobs. If the person was doing anything that we don’t know, we are going to get the report from IPID.
“We don’t know what really happened at this stage. We are working on building trust with the community. We are trying to ensure we treat the community with dignity and respect. But where you have to apply force to overcome resistance, you do that within the bounds of the law.”
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping said they have been notified of the incident and are yet to receive the docket so that the preliminary investigation could be initiated..
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