Mob tortures thief to death
By Esinathy Sibanda
A suspected serial thief was beaten to death by villagers after allegedly stealing R500 at a homestead in Tsholotsho.
Nkululo Ncube (36) from Gotshani Village allegedly broke into Mr Pointer Tshuma’s homestead at a neighbouring village in Emthetshaneni and got away with R500 last Thursday.
Villagers allegedly mobilised a mob that hunted him down, stripped him naked and beat him up.
A video circulating on social media shows a group of villagers forcing a naked Ncube to masturbate while raining blows on him. He was found dead the following day, allegedly from injuries sustained in the free-for-all assault.
Tsholotsho Rural District Council deputy chairperson Councillor Manger Sobane confirmed the incident and said the matter has since been reported to the police.
Clr Sobane said the police have made some arrests and investigations are underway.
The Chronicle learnt that on Thursday last week after Ncube had allegedly stolen the money, Mr Tshuma alerted other villagers who followed him to Gotshani Village and marched him back to Emthetshaneni for mob justice.
He was whipped using objects such as logs, sjamboks and ropes, said a witness who declined to be named.
“A group of both men and women followed Nkululo to a bottle store in Gotshani after he had stolen from Tshuma. They dragged him back to our village (Emthetshaneni) and started beating him up,” narrated the witness who provided this newspaper with a video footage of what was happening.
“After whipping him for some time, it was suggested that he should be beaten naked. They undressed him and continued flogging him and at this point women were the ones executing mob justice on him.”
The source said Ncube begged for forgiveness but the mob did not spare him since he was a known thief in the community.
It is alleged that Ncube stole livestock, solar panels, money, clothes and other household gadgets and usually got away with it as he would be seen walking freely in the community after spending a few days in police custody.
The witness said the villagers started canning his bare private parts and the women were finding joy in doing that.
“His private parts were thoroughly lashed and he groaned in pain. After that they asked him to stand up and masturbate in front everyone. He did,” said the source.
“Ncube was about to faint when the floggers decided to take him back to Gotshani. They carried him and dumped him at a homestead in his village and I suspect that it is when someone in the crowd stabbed him severely. They left him lifeless.”
Ncube is said to have died a day after due to the injuries he sustained.
Efforts to get a comment from Matabeleland North police spokesperson Chief Inspector Siphiwe Makonese were fruitless as her phone rang unanswered. The Chronicle
