Two young men were almost beaten to death by an angry mob that had accused them of breaking into an abandoned house situated on the Spaarwater plots outside Heidelberg.
Had it not been of Ryno Britz who defused the situation, both Migael Coetzer (19) and his 17-year-old friend may very well have been dead today.
The incident took place on April 10 at approximately 11:30 when builders who were working on the abandoned house had noticed two young men in the ceiling.
“They said the owner sent them to remove a few things, so we phoned him,” a construction worker told HERAUT the day after both boys were hospitalised with serious injuries.
The owner of the property, Musa Tshabalala (42), immediately rushed to the plot when he received the call as the property in question has been targeted by criminals on numerous occasions – and it was when he and his crew arrived when all hell broke loose.
Tshabalala’s version of events – which was confirmed by the builders – is that the younger of the two boys jumped from the ceiling and struck him with a hammer on his shoulder.
They were believed to be in the process of removing a hot water geizer.
The initial action by the younger boy proved futile as the group of men who were prepared to take on any intruders and soon caught, tied-up and disciplined the teens with their fists… and a pickaxe.
Both boys are still in the Thelle Mogoerane-hospital in Vosloorus where Migael is to undergo an MRI scan to determine whether his hip is fractured.
He has not been able to walk since the beating.
The 17-year-old was in a coma for more than four days, but regained consciousness and it was confirmed yesterday (Tuesday) that he is in a stable condition.
Bystander Britz to the rescue
Had it not been for Britz, who convinced Tshabalala to calm down, there is no telling just how severe the punishment the young men received could have been.
“They were going to kill them, I had to do something,” said Britz.
His involvement in the ordeal only started when Tshabalala loaded the 19-year-old onto his bakkie.
Tshabalala was told that Coetzer (who was only visiting his father when he was convinced by his friend to go to the property) could take him to a house, where a pump which was stolen during a previous burglary was kept.
They drove to Coetzer’s father’s house on a nearby plot. Britz recalls that Tshabalala had entered the property and asked to see the owner when he noticed the kid in distress.
“They had him pinned down on the back of the bakkie so that nobody could see him. Somehow he managed to break free and get our attention,” said Britz.
There were a handful of people on the property and one of them closed the gate to ensure that the driver and the boy he had taken captive could not escape.
Despite fearing for his own safety, Britz engaged Tshabalala and stopped what nearly became a separate brawl.
He then convinced Tshabalala to take him to the place where the 17-year-old was being “tortured”.
“The driver of the bakkie (the owner of that place) explained that while Migael stood his ground, he never tried to fight his way out of the situation and that’s why they didn’t beat him as much,” said Britz.
The 17-year-old who is alleged to have launched the attack with a hammer only slipped into a coma later that evening.
It is unclear whether the mob took matters into their own hands while Tshabalala took his friend to recover the stolen goods.
“When we got back to his (Tshabalala’s) house I saw the other boy on the ground. I poured water over him to see whether he was alive,” Britz told HERAUT.
“The owner of the house told Migael that he should thank me for stepping in as he was about to take them to Tsakane to be necklaced.”
At 12:13 Britz repeatedly phoned the Heidelberg SAPS, but his calls weren’t answered.
He eventually reached out to a member of the local CPF who radioed for police and medical help at 13:00. The police arrived at 13:20 – they had been involved in a pre-Easter roadblock.
Confession of a bruised boy
Britz explained that the younger of the two boys had a reputation for getting up to all sorts of mischief and that the pair had invited another friend to join them on the escapade. His mother refused.
The younger victim’s mother was there to watch while Emer-G-Med staff attended to her son. Britz was left speechless when they exchanged words.
“While I was helping the medics his mom asked him ‘What were you doing there?’ to which he (the younger boy) replied ‘mom we need the money’. That was his words to his mother!”
“It is not a state secret that kids are going to get up to mischief at some point, but to torture them like that,”Britz added.
In the meantime HERAUT received confirmation from a local business owner that the younger intruder had previously been fired when CCTV footage revealed that he stole some of their equipment.
To this day neither Tshabalala nor any of the parents of the boys who were held captive had laid any charges at the local police station.
After much deliberation Heidelberg SAPS eventually produced an incident number.
It could have been worse
The day after the incident HERAUT visited the Spaarwater plot where this nightmare took place.
The construction workers were busy demolishing what was left of the house.
At first the builders were hesitant to speak, but eventually they explained where the youngsters were beaten.
They also showed where the geizer was situated and were able to give a good indication of where the boys were kept after they were tied down.
Less than five metres away from the exact spot where the first blow was struck there was a machete (picture below) lying on a top shelf of one of the built-in cupboards.
Who it belonged to remains a mystery, but there is no doubt that far more blood would have been spilled had either of the parties used it in this fight.
