Pietermaritzburg man killed in vigilante attack, mother seeks justice

A Pietermaritzburg mother is seeking justice for her 20-year-old son who was killed in an alleged vigilante attack after being accused of stealing a grass cutter.

Michele Govender helplessly watched her son, Ryan, being brutally beaten and later watched him die of his injuries in hospital, after community members took matters into their own hands and brutally assaulted Ryan.

Four men, aged between 30 and 40, have since been arrested for the murder. Two of them were granted bail, while the other two remain in custody. They are set to appear in court on April 19.

Govender said her son’s brutal assault began the morning of Christmas Eve. Her son was taken to various locations around Copesville where he was beaten up for allegedly taking a grass cutter. He eventually died on December 26 in hospital because of his injuries.

“One of the men came to my house and started screaming for Ryan. I went to our driveway gate to ask him what happened. The man told me that Ryan stole a grass cutter from his yard, and he was going to catch and kill him.

“I then asked the man if he saw Ryan taking the grass cutter and he said he did not. So, I asked how he could accuse my son if they did not see him?”

Govender said the man told her he was going to find her son, who was not at home at the time.

“The man, joined by another man, drove around and found my son in the vicinity of a tuck shop, where they knocked him with their vehicle and proceeded to hit him.

“They then forced my son into the vehicle, where they repeatedly hit him all over his body. I then got a phone call from my sister-in-law informing me that my son was being beaten up.”

The mother said she ran to the road and saw the man’s vehicle, which she stopped.

“My son was with them, but they refused to let him leave the vehicle. His face was swollen, and his mouth was bleeding.

“I asked the man why he was doing this and told him it was not right. My son told me he was in a lot of pain. The first suspect admitted to hitting my son as he wanted to teach him a lesson. They refused to let my son get out of the vehicle and left for another location close by, where they continued to hit him.”

The mother said she could see where they went from her house and followed the car from a high viewpoint on her property. She saw them drag her son out of the car, hit him and then drag him back into the car.

“It was heartbreaking to see how a gang of men were hitting my son and I was helpless. I then ran on the road to stop the vehicle and my son managed to get out of the car. My son told me that they hit him with various weapons. They hit him on his head, body, back, and stomach.

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“He told me that he pleaded with them to stop, but one man jumped on his stomach and continued to slap him,” said Michele.

“We had to take my son to the hospital on Christmas Day as he was screaming and crying in pain. My son said it felt like his stomach was going to burst.

“At the hospital, we had to wait as there were no beds. We waited and the doctor gave him something for the pain, but it did not help. He had to sit on a chair.

“I eventually told the nurse that I was going to take him home as he could not sit any longer. She told me to bring him back if he did not get better. When I took him home, he was still in pain.”

When he started spewing blood the following morning, Govender took him back to the hospital on December 26, where he died later that day.

“I am devastated that my child lost his life in this manner,” the mother said.