A lie about a kidnapped newborn baby is what led to a vicious attack by a mob who beat an Uber driver to a pulp last week.
Godwin Maswanganyi, 45, believes he would have died ''for nothing’’ if it was not for security guards and car guards at Jabulani Mall in Soweto who saved his life.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo has appealed to people not to take the law onto their hands because it's a criminal offence. “The dangers of spreading false information can lead to innocent people becoming victims of vigilantism,” he said.
This is the latest case in which false information was spread and led to a mob attack.
In May, Cape Town Uber driver Abongile Mafalala, 31, was killed after residents accused him of being part of a syndicate that kidnapped people in the area. He was attacked with an iron rod, a spade and a wooden pole and was set alight with his car.
Eleven people are on trial for his murder.
Jabulani police spokesperson Capt Sifiso Mabizela said Maswanganyi was assaulted on Thursday after a woman who had a miscarriage at the nearby Bheki Mlangeni Hospital on the same day lied to shoppers that her child had been stolen and that the suspect ran into the mall.
Maswanganyi had scars and stitches on the head and his arms and legs were covered in bruises when Sowetan spoke to him at his home in Protea yesterday.
He said he responded to a trip request from a woman who was travelling with a child at around 5pm.
As they were passing Jabulani Mall, the woman asked him to stop so that she could withdraw money from an ATM.
At the mall, the woman went to the ATM with her child.
“As we were about to leave, a man approached me and told me to get out of the car because there is a woman whose child had been kidnapped. I told him I know nothing about a kidnapping and I am leaving,’’ said Maswanganyi.
He said the man then pointed a gun at him.
''As I was trying to leave the mall a taxi blocked me. I tried to drive out using another gate but it was closed. I stepped out of the car to ask why I was being denied to leave the mall.’’
He said this is when the mob came and started beating him with plastic cones and steel bars.
“I fell to the ground and they continued beating me until I lost consciousness. I remember waking up at the security office. I was scared when the gunman pointed me with a gun. I thought he wanted to hijack me. Those guards saved me. I think they pulled me out of the crowd. If it wasn’t for them I would have died,’’ said Maswanganyi.
A video that has been circulating on social media shows a group of men kicking and punching him until he falls to the ground. Some voices from the crowd could be heard shouting “kill him” while others shouted: “He stole a child.”
The beating happened while his passenger was still in the car with her child. Maswanganyi was admitted to Bheki Mlangeni on Thursday night and discharged in the morning. He hasn't gone back to work since.
His car keys, driver’s licence, R530, cellphone and four USBs were stolen from his car.
He said he wanted justice. “Everyone who beat me up should be arrested. I almost died because of that woman [who made a false kidnapping claim],’’ he said.
Masondo said a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm has been opened and no arrests have been made.
“Jabulani police are appealing to members of the public to assist with information about the alleged adult female that misled people who ended up assaulting and nearly killing the Uber driver to contact the police,’’ said Masondo.
kokam@sowetan.co.za
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