Johannesburg - Two men who were brutally assaulted in a mob justice attack in Protea South, Soweto, in which one person was killed are too scared to return to the neighbourhood.
Speaking from their hospital beds, Thabiso Maduba and Vuyisile Maqana claimed the community had wrongfully accused them of murder, rape, theft and smoking the drug nyaope.
Last Wednesday morning, Maduba was accused by angry residents of stealing a grass cutter from a woman who had been hanging up her washing.
The woman screamed, alerting the community.
A group of residents then forced Maduba to show them where his accomplices were. He showed them the house of a man who he knew had a gun and who he believed may have stolen the grass cutter, he said.
According to Maduba, this man then allegedly pointed to the house where Maqana and two other men were sleeping.
The three men were dragged from the house and together with Maduba were brutally beaten, kicked and stoned by an irate mob of over 100 people.
One of the four, Sibusiso Mhlambi, died from his injuries.
On Monday Maduba described how they had been beaten with sjamboks, knobkieries, metal sticks, bottles and stones.
“I thought I was dying at that moment. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I won’t go back to Protea South. My stepfather told me I’ll be beaten up if I come back.”
Maduba also feared for the lives of his three younger siblings whom he was living with.
Although he recognised many of his attackers, he was not yet sure if he would lay charges against anyone. “I want to open a case because the one guy died and these other guys were beaten for nothing (but) I’m scared because I’ll become a target.”
Meanwhile, Maqana sobbed as he spoke about his friend, Mhlambi, who was killed in the attack. He had convinced Mhlambi to stay over at his house the previous night and felt guilty that he had been murdered.
Maqana, his right arm bandaged, his face scarred and his right eye bloodied, winced as he adjusted his position in his hospital bed.
He had been living in Protea South for less than a month when the attack happened. “I want revenge. I don’t care if I get arrested or die,” he said.
Both men are unemployed and collect and sell scrap metal to make a living.
undefinedOn Monday, in Lehae near Lenasia, Mhlambi’s mother’s house was locked up.
The woman, who lived alone, had gone to the Free State to bury her son. A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the community had not wanted Mhlambi to be buried there and his mother was scared she would be attacked if she went against their wishes. She claimed that every time Mhlambi visited his mother, he stole from her.
Protea South Community Policing Forum deputy chairman Bafana Malakoane said they were using footage to identify the community members and that arrests were imminent.
The Star