A Cape Town mother has spoken out about a night of pure horror in her own home. Delorus Reyners says she had to watch as soldiers brutally beat and tortured her son, while police officers allegedly stood outside, ignored her pleas for help, and smoked cigarettes.
The attack happened on Monday night in Elsies River. It has left 30-year-old Christino Reyners fighting for his life in hospital with broken bones and a swollen face. His family says the soldiers acted like "monsters" and treated him like "dirt."
A Quiet Dinner Turned Into a Nightmare
The nightmare began while Christino was having dinner with his partner at their home in Orange Court. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door. When Christino opened it, he was met by five soldiers from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) carrying rifles.
Outside the house, at least two police vehicles were parked. The authorities were part of "Operation Prosper," a big anti-crime plan meant to make gang-ridden areas safer. They were reportedly looking for drugs and guns.
But the family says that when the soldiers found nothing illegal, the situation turned violent. Tensions rose when the family asked why the soldiers didn't have a search warrant. Christino also reportedly asked why the soldiers were speaking isiXhosa, a language the family does not understand.
"He Screamed His Lungs Out"
That was when the beating allegedly started. "One of the soldiers hit my son so hard that his mouth started to bleed right away," Delorus Reyners recalls. She ran downstairs when she heard the noise and saw her son on the floor, bleeding.
The soldiers then dragged Christino into a separate room and ordered everyone else out. Delorus says she could hear her son's screams from the other room. "They beat him until he screamed his lungs out," she says through tears.
What makes the story even more shocking is what the police were doing during the attack. Delorus says she begged the police officers outside to stop the torture. But she claims they did nothing. "All they did was sit in their vehicles and smoke cigarettes," she alleges.
Allegations of Horrific Torture
The details of the attack are truly stomach-turning. Local crime activist Claudine Coleridge, who visited the family, says she was told the soldiers used extreme methods. "I was told the soldiers even used equipment to shock Christino’s genitals," she says. "He could barely walk when they brought him back."
Inside the room where the attack happened, bloodstains can still be seen on the walls and cupboards. Delorus says she is too traumatised to even clean the room. "I can’t bring myself to clean it because I am still haunted by what they did to my son," she says quietly.
Delorus admits that her son has been part of the notorious 28s prison gang in the past. She says she has "preached and preached" to him about the dangers of that life. But she insists that his choices do not give the authorities the right to nearly kill him.
"If my son committed a crime, arrest him. Take him to court. But don’t nearly kill him inside my house," she says.
A Community Living in Fear
This is not the first time people in the area have complained about the behavior of the soldiers and police. Since Operation Prosper began over a month ago, many residents say they have been living in fear of the very people meant to protect them.
"They are supposed to protect this community from criminals, but now they are becoming part of the problem," one angry neighbour said.
Delorus says the attack lasted for hours. It only stopped when she became so sick to her stomach that she had to run to the toilet to vomit. But even then, the ordeal wasn't over. She says the police then took her son away in their vehicle to continue the beating somewhere else.
Searching for Justice
The family is now demanding that the people responsible for the attack be held accountable. They want the soldiers charged and the police officers who stood by to be punished.
"This is not what the army is supposed to do to people," Delorus says. "It is disgusting, embarrassing, and inhumane."
As Christino Reyners lies in his hospital bed, his mother is left to pick up the pieces of a broken family. She says she will never forget the sound of her son's screams or the sight of the police officers smoking while her child was being broken.
