Cape Town - A Mfuleni man was stripped naked, beaten with sticks, an iron rod and planks and was about to be necklaced before police arrived and took him away after he and three others allegedly robbed two residents.
One of the two men allegedly robbed of their cellphones explained on Monday what happened. Speaking on condition his name not be published as he feared for his safety, he said he and a friend were confronted by four men on their way from a friend’s house on Saturday.
“They asked us questions that did not make sense and when we did not answer they started pushing and shoving us. They had knives, but we fought back and we were able to get away,” he said.
“It seems they followed us because after I arrived at my house, I heard noise from outside. I checked and they were breaking windows at my friend’s house. He was renting the place and I thought I should go and tell the house’s owner. When I came back, there were more of them. They ran away when they saw us,” the man said.
“The windows were smashed and the door was completely removed. My friend was stabbed three times and he had several wounds in his head. He was lying of the ground. We quickly rushed him to Khayelitsha Hospital that night,” he said.
He said residents were angry.
“I came back from hospital on Sunday. One of the guys had been captured by the community members. He was identified by my friend’s girlfriend. They caught him at a shebeen and brought him here where he was assaulted. I was sleeping when I heard he had been captured. When I checked there were lots of people around him. He was asked to name his accomplice and was unable to,” the man said.
“People say those guys are from this area, but I don’t know them. I forgive them and … would like to talk about this situation because we are not fighting with them,” he said.
A picture showing a naked man with a tyre around his waist was posted on Facebook. Police could be seen in the photograph.
Khayelitsha Hospital spokesman Sithembiso Magubane confirmed it had treated a man for stab wounds while police spokesman Lindile Dubeni said they had no record of the incident.
Cape Times