THEMBELIHLE – A 13-year-old boy lives in fear after he was brutally attacked by his neighbour.
This came after the suspect, whose name is known to Mpumalanga News, accused the boy of stealing his memory card, earphones and R500.
According to the victim’s mother, Ms Salivina Madvolo, she will never forget the way he assaulted her son, which led to the child having nightmares. “My son doesn’t sleep well at night. He keeps screaming.
When I ask him what’s wrong, he just says, “He wants to kill me mama”.
“He’s very traumatised,” she said.
It’s alleged that he called the boy and later sent his child to call the mother of the victim, hoping that they could solve the matter. But when they had spoken, the neighbour allegedly requested to talk to the child in private. “He tied him up with wires and beat him.
He even went further and kicked him in his private parts, and used teaspoons to dig holes in my child’s hands. It’s God’s mercy that he is still alive. There is blood in his urine and he struggles to walk properly,” said Madvolo.
She said the trauma got worse when they saw the neighbour walking in the street. He had been released from custody and was granted R1 500 bail. The family went so far as to accuse the police of failing to act properly. Some parents in the area said they didn’t think that their children were safe as some community members were threatening to take the law into their own hands.
They indicated that the man did not deserve to be in society because he posed a danger to children. “He was not supposed to be released on bail, after he beat the child like an animal,” said one of the residents who didn’t want to reveal his identity for safety reasons.
The man is expected to briefly appear in the Kabokweni Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
