Durban - A Durban man was left traumatised after being subjected to a brutal road rage incident allegedly at the hands of bodyguards of controversial businessman Sibusiso Mpisane.
A video of the incident shows two well-dressed men with pistols on their hips hitting a lone driver as he sits in a white Toyota.
The incident occurred on Umhlanga Rocks Drive on Monday morning.
The vehicle driven by the two men, a dark-coloured BMW X5, is registered in Mpisane’s name.
The Mercury on Wednesday attempted to telephone Sibusiso Mpisane and sent SMSes. When his wife Shauwn, was contacted, a personal assistant requested questions by e-mail, which went unanswered.
Sibusiso Mpisane telephoned The Mercury on Wednesday night and said he was hearing of the incident for the first time.
He confirmed that the vehicle was registered in his name.
“I condemn bad driving and violence on the road. I am going to investigate the incident internally. If any of my employees are found to have committed an offence they will face internal disciplinary processes,” he said.
Mpisane urged the victim to take up the incident with the authorities and said he did not condone such behaviour.
The 26-year-old said he feared leaving his home since the attack, and has been unable to carry out his job as an Uber driver.
He said he would open a case at Durban North Police Station, after being advised to do so when he tried to open one earlier at Durban Central.
He was advised there to obtain a medical evaluation of the injuries he sustained before opening the case.
He alleges that he was forced to stop on the side of the road after the BMW, which was behind him, began flashing blue lights.
“They went in front of me and jammed my car at the robot. And then they came for me and they had guns.
“I wanted to get out and run away but there was traffic at the robot, so I closed the window. They said they wanted to smash the window, so I opened it.”
He said one man took his keys and started swearing at him and hitting him.
The terrified driver said he suspected at the time that the incident might have been a hijacking, but the men made no attempt to steal his vehicle.
“I still don’t know what I did,” he said.
He added that he had sustained an injury to his mouth because of repeated blows - some of which are seen clearly on video footage - and sought medical attention on Wednesday.
The man who supplied the video to The Mercury alleges that when he began filming the incident the two began walking back towards their vehicle, but then turned around again and continued to beat the man.
He said the assaulted driver told him he could only assume that he had “made a mistake” on the road and the two men had assaulted him for it.
Layton Beard, a spokesman for the Automobile Association, advised victims of road rage to report it immediately.
“Try to get away, drive to the nearest police station. If you have a witness that’s better, sometimes people have cellphone footage. Try to remember details of what the person looked like and the colour and model of the car.”
He advised motorists to remain calm on the road.
“Understand that nobody is perfect. Everyone makes small mistakes, sometimes they don’t stop at stop signs, sometimes they don’t use their indicators.”
The Mpisanes - Sibusiso and his wife Shauwn - have made headlines for the past few years for their lavish lifestyle and after Shauwn’s company, Zikhulise Cleaning, Construction and Maintenance, received multimillion rand construction contracts from the eThekwini Municipality.
Shauwn Mpisane was charged with fraud in two separate cases, but one \ was stopped by the National Prosecuting Authority and the second was withdrawn.
The couple also own soccer club Royal Eagles, which plays in the National First Division league.
The Mercury