Durban - An oThongathi family are desperately trying to find their teenage son who was last seen in a video lying limp in a pool of blood.
Police are investigating a case of kidnapping.
The family from Hambanathi said Andile “Bobo” Mbuthu, a Grade 12 learner at Nkosibomvu Secondary, was assaulted after being accused of stealing from a local tavern.
Andile’s aunt Sonto Ngidi said the family was alerted last week that he was being beaten at the tavern and when they went there were told he had escaped.
However, the family believes he would not have been able to escape because of the condition he was in.
On Tuesday, a video of the assaulted teenager surfaced on Facebook. In it, he is lying in an empty room with blood on the floor.
The family said they had not seen the video but had heard of its gruesome nature.
In the video, the person filming walks in shouting Andile’s name, telling him to get up and clean the place. The person pushes him with a stick telling him to turn over.
A powerless Andile says his body is in pain as he turns to the camera revealing his battered face. The person then pushes him over with his foot and Andile rolls over on to his back. He struggles to sit up and the person again tells him to get up and clean the room.
“We are too scared to even see the video,” said Ngidi.
She said last Tuesday some people came to their home in a car looking for Andile, who was not home. She said the family learnt later that day that Andile was seen being pulled into the same car, allegedly by the tavern owner.
“A young boy we know came to our house and told us that Bobo was being assaulted at the (tavern). When we asked him what condition he was in, he said Bobo had been lying limp with his left eye closed and his right opened but it was rolled back and it was white,” said Ngidi.
She said when the family arrived at the lounge they were told he escaped.
“They said they don’t know where he is,” she said.
Police spokesperson Captain
Nqobile Gwala confirmed that the police are investigating a case of kidnapping.