Illegal Ruyterwacht rehab centre horrors laid bare

CAPE TOWN - Described as a “rehab from hell” by residents, police are investigating murder and assault at an illegal Ruyterwacht rehabilitation centre where ‘patients’ were allegedly hit with nails in their feet, sprayed with sanitiser and set alight.

The shocking allegations emerged after police visited the Synergy Rehabilitation and Upliftment centre on Tuesday in connection with the case of missing 35-year-old Igshaan Philander of Tafelsig.

Philander had been reported missing by his family at the Elsies River police station that day.

According to reports, he was admitted to a rehabilitation centre in the Ruyterwacht area, and when the family enquired about him he could not be found, said police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk.

“The investigating officer then went to the rehabilitation centre in Louis Botha Street, Ruyterwacht, where he was confronted by patients reporting abuse and assault,” Van Wyk said.

A case of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) was opened after a victim, also from Tafelsig, alleged that he was a patient at the rehabilitation centre and was assaulted, with nails hit in his feet, his hands tied and sanitiser sprayed on him, and then set alight.

“Two suspects, aged 15 and 40, were arrested and will appear in the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court once charged.

“On further investigation, the missing person’s body was discovered at a mortuary and registered as an inquest. The case has since been updated to a murder, which is currently under investigation,” Van Wyk said.

Department of Social Development (DSD) MEC Sharna Fernandez said they had received distressing reports of a murder at the illegal substance abuse rehabilitation centre operating out of a residence in Ruyterwacht.

“There have also been allegations of torture and abuse of patients at the residence. The SAPS has made a number of arrests and removed all patients from the site back to their families.

“I condemn the actions of those responsible, and call on the SAPS and prosecuting authority to ensure that they are not allowed to intimidate or have any contact with their victims while the prosecution is under way.”

The Elsies River Community Police Forum expressed their shock, with its spokesperson, Imraahn Mukaddam, saying: “We insist that police get to the bottom of this matter. The operators of the rehab have a lot to answer for. How could a death of a patient not be reported properly and why did the family of the patient have to report him missing only to find that he died at the place that was supposed to support him. The fact that other patients also complained about abuse at the facility is of grave concern.

“The Elsies River Community Police Forum wishes to express our condolences to the victim’s family and will on their behalf demand a full inquiry into how an illegal operation could have been allowed to exist, and only after this tragedy, the authorities respond.”

Tafelsig activist Joanie Fredericks said the news came at a time when she was receiving countless requests to find assistance for people with substance abuse addictions.

“A few years ago when I ran a joint partnership drug recovery programme with a registered treatment centre for people with substance abuse addictions, I learnt first hand how desperate addicts can be in their quest to find help and how easy it is for unscrupulous people to make money out of concerned family members who go to extreme lengths to find money to pay for ‘treatment’.

“People who are addicted to substances are extremely vulnerable and families must not stop to seek help from government and registered drug addiction centres. Abuse against people who suffer substance abuse should be considered a crime against humanity, punishable with the harshest possible sentences,” she said.

Fredericks added that the owners of the centre must be made an example of to show how serious the government was in stamping out illegal substance abuse rehabilitation centres.

Cape Times