2 White South Africans Arrested After Video Shows Them Forcing Black Man Into A Coffin
Victor Mlotshwa didn’t think that anyone would believe him when he told them his traumatic tale of being forced into a coffin by two white men who also threatened to put him on fire. The incident occurred over three months ago.
Fortunately, video footage of the altercation, taken by one of the two white assailants, was made public not too long ago and Mlotshwa was given the evidence he needed.
“I was scared for my life. They accused me of trespassing [on] their farm and they started beating me up,” Mlotshwa told AllAfrica.com. “There was a foot path there and I decided to use it.”
Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson allegedly saw Mlotshwa walking along a path and accused him of trespassing on their ranch. They then forced him into a nearby coffin and even attempted to close it while he was inside.
After the video resurfaced on social media – it has since been taken down – Oosthuizen and Martins Jackson were tracked down by South African police and brought into court on Wednesday, according to the Washington Post, and charged with kidnapping and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
“He didn’t have evidence to prove what had happened, it’s only two weeks back that he decided to open the case. He didn’t think anyone would believe him,” Mlotshwa’s brother, Thobile, told AllAfrica.com.
The two men won’t begin their trial until January, but will remain in jail until then.
This humiliation can be based on nothing else but his blackness, which means it is in actual fact a humiliation of black people as a whole,” The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said in a statement.
South Africa is still dealing with the consequences of decades of unrest resulting from apartheid. While the white population in the country is only 10 percent, they still control a majority of its economic prowess.
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