African cops back in court after man dragged, killed

Eight South African policemen charged with murdering a Mozambican immigrant who was dragged behind a police van appeared in court for a bail hearing Friday. They are charged with killing Mido Macia, a 27-year-old Mozambican taxi driver who died in police custody on February 26. Eight officers had been arrested in connection with the incident, which shocked South Africa and the world, and a constable who was on duty that day has since turned himself in. It was unclear whether the ninth man will appear in court. "I brought him to the police station today," his advocate, Sam Leso, told AFP. A magistrate had postponed the hearing Monday of the men arrested last week so that state witnesses could confirm the identities of the accused. Bystanders filmed Macia being manhandled, handcuffed to the back of a police van and dragged hundreds of metres to the Daveyton police station, east of Johannesburg. Just over two hours later he was found dead in his cell. An autopsy found that he had died of head injuries and internal bleeding. Footage of the incident spread quickly online and sent shock waves throughout the country, shining a spotlight yet again on the conduct of South Africa's much maligned police force. Prosecutors are expected to argue his death was a premeditated murder. On Wednesday around 1,000 people attended a memorial for Macia at the sports stadium in Daveyton. He is due to be buried outside the Mozambican capital Maputo on Saturday.