Principal attacked in Durban protest chaos demands justice
Bheki Mngadi is seeking justice after an angry mob accused him of being a foreign drug dealer and attacked his vehicle during the protest.
PAUL Sykes Primary School principal Bheki Mngadi is seeking justice and legal recourse following an attack on himself and his vehicle by anti-illegal immigration protesters in the Point area last Wednesday.
Mngadi, who was accused of being a “well-dressed drug dealing kwerekwere”, said he had to be ushered out by police as the mob threatened to attack.
“At that moment all I could think about was my daughter and that if I exited my vehicle, I could be killed,” said Mngadi. “I had no idea that there was a protest going when I drove onto that street.”
The Durban resident and principal of the Newlands West school said he was on his way to buy sporting equipment for his learners when he was diverted from Mahatma Gandhi Road through a back road that led him straight to the waiting protesters and Zulu regiments who had surrounded a nearby building suspected to be a haven for alleged drug dealers.
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“When I was first stopped on Mahatma Gandhi I was asked to show my ID, which I did willingly. I was told to divert and use a back road but found people sitting there. I tried to reverse out of there, and that is when the car was surround by an angry mob and police officers,” said Mngadi.
“The mob was yelling and calling me a kwerekwere because of the way that I look, which was hurtful. They accused me of being in the area to deal in drugs. Throughout this ordeal I was telling that I am South African and why I was in the area.”
@caxtonlocalmedia Paul Sykes Primary School principal Bhekisisa Mngadi is seeking justice and legal recourse following an attack on himself and his vehicle by anti-illegal immigration protesters in the Point area last Wednesday (6 May). #bereamail #durbannews ♬ original sound – caxtonlocalmedia
Mngadi said he identified himself as an education official on his way to buy sporting equipment for the kids. “But they would not stop banging on the vehicle. Some of them had shields and were carrying pointing objects which damaged the vehicle.”
Seeing the commotion, police officers came to intervene. “The officers searched my vehicle and found nothing, because I had nothing to hide. What I had with me was school documents and my suit jacket. One of the protesters said the formal wear made me look like a foreign drug dealer.
“Videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media with some labelling me as a foreign drug dealer. My reputation as a member of the public and primary school principal has been damaged. My daughter is traumatised and vehicle damaged. I want justice.”
eThekwini District SAPS spokesperson Captain Carmen Rhynes confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property, as well as a case of crimen injuria, is under investigation by Point SAPS. “At this stage, no arrests have been made,” said Rhynes.
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