Man beaten to death amid claims of theft

A Motherwell man was beaten to death after being allegedly abducted by a group of men who accused him of trying to steal a cellphone.

Zanoxolo Maneli, 25, died a day after being beaten in a vicious attack where he was taken from his home and forced into a minibus taxi and kidnapped.

Detectives say the alleged abduction took place at about 10pm on Monday  when a group of men pulled up to his home in Mantyontya Street, Motherwell.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said that Maneli was taken out of his house and forced into a minibus taxi by a group of unidentified men.

“The group arrived at the house and told his father that they were looking for him. They then took him out of the house by force and drove off with him,” he said.

“Shortly before midnight he was dropped off at the Motherwell clinic, badly beaten and suffering from multiple wounds linked to being assaulted.”

Beetge said preliminary information indicated that the men accused Maneli of stealing a cellphone and a radio.

“That is all we know at this stage. He (Maneli) was then taken to hospital where he died at about 3pm on Tuesday,” he said.

“According to the preliminary medical report, Maneli died as a result of being badly assaulted.”

Motherwell cluster commander Major General Dawie Rabie said that any act of vigilante justice would not be tolerated.

“Residents need to understand that such attacks will not be tolerated. Not so long ago, we had a mob justice where an innocent was wrongfully accused and killed,” he said.

Mava Fundakubi, 52, was killed near his house in De Vos Crescent in Shukushukuma, Motherwell, in January after an angry mob accused him of raping a seven-year-old girl.

An investigation led to Fundakubi being declared innocent when the medical report revealed no signs of rape or molestation.

The girls' 36-year-old father was subsequently arrested.