Johannesburg -
Residents who were “sick and tired of crime” beat a man to death in Mpumalanga over a stolen cellphone.
The act, which happened in Tweefontein, near KwaMhlanga, was caught on video and has gone viral.
This is the second mob justice incident caught on video from Mpumalanga in three months after another clip showed a group beating a suspected rapist and murderer to death and also hacking him with an axe.
In the latest clip, the crowd beat a man and kick him until he falls in a puddle of stagnant muddy water.
The person recording, a woman, can be heard in the background laughing and shouting: “He is a dog. He must not escape.”
Someone can be heard asking the man: “Where (is) the phone?”
The beating then goes off the road and continues in the bushes nearby. A group of people follow the victim there. The man is later taken back to the road, his shirt and pants covered in mud. The group continue walking, one of the attackers holding the man by his jacket to stop him escaping.
As the group walk, there is a lot of excitement in the background and one of the old men waves and smiles at the camera.
At some point the man being attacked stumbles and falls. Someone who looks like a woman approaches him, punching him on his back and kicking him.
Afterwards, more people join in and kick him. The man is also seen being dragged into mud.
Police spokesman Brigadier Selby Mohlala said investigations revealed that the incident occurred in Tweefontein two weeks ago. He said information revealed that the victim had stolen the cellphone belonging to a supermarket owner that was on the counter. Some people who were in the shop at the time saw it and chased after him.
“When they caught him they beat him to death,” he said.
Mohlala said they were still looking for suspects in the matter.
This attack follows a similar one that happened in February in Tonga, also in Mpumalanga.
Four men allegedly attacked a family who owned a business.
Mohlala said a man and a woman were killed and the suspects took the couple’s child to her parents’ business premises.
There, they allegedly took money from the pool table and raped the child before releasing her.
“The community later caught one of the suspects with a phone believed to be one of the deceased’s as well as R2 coins believed to be from the pool table.
“They beat him to death. They found another suspect and he was the one whose attack was caught on camera.
“
That video shows a man lying on the ground, with people kicking him.”
Mohlala said the dead man’s co-accused were later arrested.
Three people believed to have killed the alleged rapists and murderer were arrested and got off on free bail.
The Star
* IOL has chosen not to show the very graphic video.