Two men claim attacks by KZN mayor and his guards

Witness victimised trying to rescue another man

Police are investigating a case of assault after a municipal employee claimed he was attacked by a KwaZulu-Natal mayor and his bodyguards.

Endumeni municipal worker Njabulo Magubane claims he was walking home on Friday night when two cars stopped in front of him. He said three men got out and attacked him. He claims one person hit him across the face with a gun and he fell to the ground.

Magubane said he recognised the men as the Endumeni mayor Siboniso Mbatha and his bodyguards. He claims the attack was unprovoked and that he hadn’t had any previous encounters with the men.

A passer-by Ndumiso Zwane said he tried to intervene.

“I was driving past when I saw a man being assaulted and so I stopped to help. When I got closer I realised he was being assaulted by the mayor and his bodyguards, so I took out my phone to start recording‚” Zwane said.

He said the bodyguards swarmed him before he could press record, and he was ordered at gunpoint to delete any footage.

Zwane said he fled and went to report the matter at the police station‚ but found the mayor and his bodyguards already there. He said police didn’t listen to his claims and he fled in fear of his life.

“I called 112 (emergency services) but they couldn’t help. I knew I couldn’t go back home out of fear they would follow me home, so I slept in the bush that night.”

However‚ Mbatha has denied all accusations made against him‚ saying they were an “attempt to tarnish my political record and the good I do for the community”.

According to Mbatha‚ he and his bodyguards were on their way back from a meeting when they noticed a large group of people gathered around someone who appeared to be hurt.

“I stopped because I didn’t want people to later say someone was in trouble and the mayor just drove past.”

Mbatha said he noticed that someone had been injured and those present told him he’d been attacked by a group of people.

“I found out about the case against me on Wednesday morning when I was contacted by the investigating offer,” he said.

Police spokesman Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed a case of common assault was opened on Monday at the Dundee police station.