South Africa: Teacher in Custody After Murder of Car Guards

7 February 2023

Four car guards suspected of stealing headlights outside a pub were kidnapped, stuffed in the boot of cars and taken to the veld where they were tortured by five men.

Two of the victims died.

On Thursday, police arrested a suspect in connection with the murders, which took place on 22 January.

The suspect is a teacher who was arrested and hauled off in handcuffs at the school where he is employed in Soweto.

Sources close to the case told Scrolla.Africa that four more suspects could soon be arrested. And they are all teachers too!

Two of the guards died at the scene and two survived the torture to tell the tale of horror and torture.

Scrolla.Africa spoke to a parent of one of the victims.

Mfanafuhi Mbanjwa, whose son Tshiditso Ramatlo was killed, said he was not a thief but was killed like a thug after being stoned and shot.

"He was stoned to death like a thug. He also had a bullet in his head," he said.

He said: "The men who assaulted him had no proof that Tshiditso and his friends had stolen the cars' lights."

He said they were picked up and put into the boots and back seats of cars. The suspects first took them to a filling station where they bought fuel before proceeding to some open veld.

"They took them to an open field and dropped three victims there, thinking they were all dead."

But Mfanafuthi said the suspects had forgotten one of the victims in their car and drove back with him in their boot. "Then later they remembered and took him back to where they had dumped the other three."

Police recovered the bodies the morning after the incident.

One of the teachers was arrested at his place of work on Thursday and appeared in the Orlando Magistrate's Court today. The case was postponed until Friday for a formal bail application.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.