A man who claims his grandchildren were severely beaten by another neighbor in New Hanover, Mshwathi, is WANTING justice.
In this incident, it is said that an 18-year-old student and a 16-year-old student were seriously injured in the head as well as a finger.
According to the victim’s grandfather, Mr. Joseph Luthuli, on February 21, his house was raided by his neighbors, looking for another relative.
“I went out and said that the person they were looking for was not there, they said I was the only one left. They took me to their house. They came and locked me up, and asked me about my lost mobile phone and ID,” said Luthuli.
He said he always explained that he knew nothing about these things that were said to have been lost. He said just then, his grandchildren came to see what was happening, and that’s when they were finally attacked.
“The people of this village beat my grandchildren, one was injured in the head, and another was injured in the finger. They were forced to go to the hospital, where they were admitted and treated,” he said.
He went on to say that they opened a case at the New Hanover Police Station but there was no movement.
He said that when they opened the case, the police told them that they should take the form, J88 and take it to the hospital to be filled out.
“He showed the doctor those forms, but he refused to give them to take them to the police station, saying that the law states that they should not be collected by the investigating officer,” he said.
He said the investigator did not bother to pick them up, instead, he called him to identify the suspects last Thursday. He said one of the suspects was then seized by the police, but the next day they saw him faltering in public.
“When we went to the court to ask, the prosecutor said that the case was removed from the list of charges because it had no weight,” he said.
He said that the prosecutor said that the suspects should have been identified and that the forms (J88) supporting the statements were not available.
“Now we are asking why the police took me to identify the suspects instead of taking the robbers. We are also confused as to whose fault it is that the J88s are not in the dock because the police know the law,” said Luthuli.
He said they wanted justice for the case as the accused threatened them that they were not finished.
He said that it was not clear whether the relative they were shouting at, who eventually took him, was the one they accused of stealing the property they said was lost.