Buziwe Nocuze
The family of an innocent man who was brutally murdered in an act of mob justice on Tuesday is calling for justice.
Abongile Mafalala, 30, was beaten, stoned and set alight by a mob of angry Parkwood Residents in Cape Town who believed he had attempted to kidnap two young children. Footage of the attack went viral afterwards.
A WhatsApp voice note was shared earlier on Tuesday by the mother of the children, who alleged that a man driving a champagne-coloured Toyota Avanza tried unsuccessfully to abduct her children.
It has now emerged that Abongile’s only crime was that his car, an Uber from which he made a living, matched this description. Police found no evidence that a kidnapping attempt ever took place, let alone one that Mafalala was involved in.
His brother Yonela Mafalala told Scrolla.Africa that Abongile was innocent and didn’t deserve to die.
“We are hurt and still cannot believe that the circulating videos were that of my loving and respectful brother,” said Yonela.
They received the news from their neighbour after he was contacted by people who found Abongile’s CV. Even though the car was burnt, his CV was found intact in the glove compartment. It contained information which led the people to Abongile’s neighbours.
The victim’s girlfriend, 24-year-old Zandile Mamela, believes that her boyfriend was killed because he was black.
“I hate to say this, but he was killed because of his colour, those people didn’t even give him a chance to explain who he was, and he was robbed of his shoes,” said Zandile.
“If the community had given him a chance, he would have proven that he was doing his job, but since he was black in a coloured congregation, they saw it fit to kill him like a criminal.”
The chairperson of the Community Policing Forum in that area, Melvin Jonker, said the police are busy viewing the CCTV footage in that area.
They are also looking at the videos taken when the man was killed.
He described the incident as barbaric and lawless, and even though they had recently had kidnapping incidents in the area, it didn’t give the residents a right to kill anyone.
Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, spokesperson for SAPS in Western Cape, said Grassy Park police are investigating a murder but have not yet made any arrests.
