Beaten for being black
The spectre of the ‘Waterkloof Four’ killing raised its head following the brutal assault of a black man, allegedly by four white men, at the weekend. The incident sparked outrage on Facebook.
The spectre of the Waterkloof Four raised its head again following a brutal, seemingly unprovoked assault on a black man – allegedly by four white males.
Plot foreman Simba Masvino was left with several stitches in his severely swollen face, his right eye so lacerated and swollen it could barely open, and with lacerations on his one hand. He also suffered internal bleeding.
The incident has sparked outrage on Facebook.
The 38-year-old Zimbabwean national was cycling along Nkwe Road outside the Nkwe Pleasure Resort, east of Pretoria late on Sunday afternoon when he was attacked by the occupants of a Hyundai Getz. According to an eyewitness, four white males were in the vehicle.
Masvino can only remember fragments of the assault which left him hospitalised.
“I noticed this car behind me that just didn’t pass. It was keeping the same speed as me on my bicycle. Suddenly I was being dragged and then I fell to the ground,” he said.
An eyewitness, who preferred not to be named, said he witnessed the attack in his rearview mirror.
“The man was cycling minding his own business, he really wasn’t doing anything wrong. I saw the car pull up next to him and one of the occupants grabbed him and dragged him, as the car drove faster. It seemed like he was pushed and fell to the ground.”
The eyewitness said he stopped his vehicle in the middle of the dusty road to prevent the perpetrators from driving away.
“The man was on the ground and they went onto the side of the road to get around me. I saw the man wasn’t moving and ran to help him.”
The eyewitness said he found Masvino in a pool of blood with blood streaming down his face from open wounds on his head.
Another vehicle stopped and a level three paramedic assisted Masvino. “We called the ambulance and another man who stopped tried to go after the Hyundai to get the registration, but the vehicle was already gone,” the eyewitness said.
Masvino said he was left deeply saddenened and hurt. “I can’t understand what I did wrong to
I saw this car behind me, keeping the same speed as me on my bicycle. Suddenly I was being dragged
Simba
Zimbabwean assault victim
them to deserve this. This is not how you treat another person, especially someone who didn’t do anything wrong to you,” he said.
He said he hoped the perpetrators would be caught.