As the parents of a young man killed in a mob justice attack prepare to bury their son on Saturday, they are left wondering whether he was a victim of mistaken identity after being accused of stealing a TV.
Bongolethu Langman, 19, of KwaDwesi, died on Tuesday last week at Livingstone Hospital after being abducted from his home two days earlier and attacked with a panga.
About 12 men arrived at the family’s Langalibalele Street home on the previous Sunday morning, demanding to see Bongolethu – who was asleep – after a TV was stolen in the area the night before.
A second man, Luthando Zibi, 24, was also abducted and accused of stealing the TV.
Both men were taken to St George’s Strand and Booysen Park, where they were assaulted, but Zibi managed to escape with only cuts and bruises.
Lungile Langman, 50, and his wife, Sindiswa, 42, said they were still in shock after their son was dragged out of the house – only to see him hours later, covered in blood.
“They took my son to the house where the TV was stolen from and I followed them,” Lungile said.
“But the owner of the house told me he had people from New Brighton accompanying him and they would hurt me if I followed them.”
Not ready to give up, Lungile ran home to get dressed and grab a cellphone.
“When I returned to the house, I could not find my son.”
Neighbours told him his son had been shoved in the boot of a car and taken to the Ziyabuya Shopping Complex.They said that was where the stolen TV had been sold.
“When I got to the complex I could not find the vehicle.
“I went to the KwaDwesi police station. Eventually a police vehicle arrived and we went back to the house where the TV was stolen. By then, lots of people had gathered.“The police told me I must open a case of abduction.”
Lungile said that after the police had left, he had noticed blood on the clothing of some of the people in the house.
“I then knew they had done something terrible to my son.”
He said they left the house after people became violent towards his wife and accused him of protecting his son.
After they got home, a child came to ask for a wheelbarrow.
“This was to carry Bongolethu because he had been found lying in a nearby bush.”
Sindiswa said: “They had cut his head open with a panga. His entire body was bruised and swollen.”
Bongolethu was rushed to hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit, where he died of his injuries.
“All this after our neighbours tell us now that he did not do it,” Sindiswa said.
The man whose TV was stolen, whose identity is known to The Herald, could not be reached for comment.
Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge confirmed Langman and Zibi had been abducted and assaulted. Zibi did not open a case as he only had bruises, Beetge said.
“But two cases were opened – the abduction case and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, which was later upgraded to murder.”