Soweto Man Viciously Assaulted by Mob After Being Falsely Accused of Stealing TV Set

• A man from Diepkloof in Soweto is in hospital after he was attacked in an incident of mob justice gone wrong
• His neighbour gave him a TV set, and community members saw him carrying it around, allegedly concluding that he stole the TV
• They severely assaulted him and his friend, and while he sustained significant injuries, his friend unfortunately died

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered police investigations and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

SOWETO– A man from Diepkloof in Soweto fell into the hands of angry community members who accused him of stealing a TV set one of his neighbours gave to him last Thursday, 29 February. He survived the assault, but his friend died.

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Man assaulted by mob

According to SowetanLIVE, the man, Puseletso Zulu, got the TV from his neighbour, Steven Lebelo, after he helped him clean his yard. Lebelo confirmed to Sowetan LIVE that he had given him the TV set because it wasn't working, and he planned to throw it away. Zulu and his friend, Tshediso, were on their way home pushing the TV inside a wheely bin when a group of men allegedly stopped them. They demanded to search the bin, and Zulu let them.

Things escalated when the mob started assaulting Zulu and his friend. Zulu said that he begged them to stop and protested that he did not steal the TV set but continued their assault. They were allegedly severely assaulted with hard objects, and while Zulu managed to escape, his friend lost his life on the scene. The police are investigating a case of murder.

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Netizens disapproved of the assault

Netizens on Facebook were disappointed and angry that a man died at the hands of an angry mob.

Dean Mohale said:

"That's what I hate about mob justice because innocent people end up being hurt or even killed."

Queen Khongelani Nkuna remarked:

"Ironic how a community will stand in front of the courts fighting for justice and then have their hands full of blood in the name of mob justice."

Steve Molaolwa said:

"Community patrollers must call the police if they suspect people are thieves rather than assaulting suspects."

Thomas Radebe asked:

"So why are the suspects still gallivanting out there?"

Neo Khahliso remarked:

"The mob must compensate him."

Mob allegedly attacks suspected thief in Durban

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that a group of people attacked a man in Durban suspected of being a thief.

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A video of the incident went viral, showing a man thronged by a mob of many people.

Netizens questioned the mob's actions and wondered why the police were not called.

Source: Briefly News