Family stunned after IPID rules out assault in Antonio Vosloo’s death - IOL

Antonio Vosloo’s family says it was kept in the dark after the 39-year-old died during an Anti-Gang Unit raid in Kalksteenfontein, where police were searching for an illegal firearm.

Nearly two years later, the family says it is still seeking answers and only recently learned that a pathologist had ruled out assault and attributed Vosloo’s death to natural causes.

Vosloo died on 21 December 2024 at a house where he had been playing cards with friends. His relatives allege he was separated from the group and assaulted by police before collapsing.

​Police were searching for an illegal firearm they believed he had.

His family alleges he was separated from his friends, taken to the back of the house and assaulted.

Police claimed he collapsed during a raid. At the time, heavily armed cops swarmed the scene as resident set the building alight and throwing stones at officials as they vented their anger.

However, a relative of the deceased said she witnessed police officers attacking him multiple times.

They also believe officers may have mistaken him for a man named Anthony. But Antonio repeatedly told them that his name was Antonio and that he did not know anyone by the name they were asking for.

The family suspects that the similarity between the two names may have contributed to a case of mistaken identity.

Family spokesperson Felicia Klaasen said: “He repeatedly told them (police) his name was Antonio and that he did not know anyone by the name of Anthony and that he did not have any gun on him or knew about it.

The family was left in disbelief when forensic officials arrived to remove a body from the property. They initially did not realise that the deceased was Antonio.

It was only after being contacted and asked to identify the body that they discovered they had lost their loved one.

But instead of receiving clear answers about the circumstances surrounding his death, the family says they were left with explanations they struggle to accept.

“We asked the police what and who killed my brother, but we were only told that we must go to the mortuary. We never received a clear answer regarding my brother's cause of death; the police never told us anything. We have many questions that we need the police to answer,” she said.

The family says it was only contacted later to identify his body and was never given a satisfactory explanation of how he died.

They subsequently approached the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), demanding answers and access to the post-mortem report.

When IOL Media enquired about the finding, IPID responded, saying: “This matter was reported to IPID after the incident happened, and IPID conducted a preliminary investigation.

“The Pathologist confirmed that the deceased died of natural causes and excluded assault.

“Then IPID returned the docket to SAPS for investigation as assault was ruled out from the post-mortem results. The docket remained with SAPS for finalisation.”

The family says they were never notified of that finding.

Klaasen said: “How can they close this as natural causes without telling us? We feel failed by the justice system. We have been to IPID, but we have not received any updates or assistance.”