A man in his early 30s suffered a brutal death after he was attacked by a gang of four in the OR Tambo informal settlement over the weekend.

His body was found with multiple stab wounds inflicted with beer bottles. One of his eyes also was gouged out. It is believed the attackers are part of a dangerous gang in Bekkersdal.

A political leader who wishes to remain anonymous owing to the nature of the incident explained to the herald that the incident occurred on Saturday 12 July around 4am.

“Gang violence is getting out of hand in Bekkersdal. There have been numerous strange murders in the area prior to this one. People are dying like flies and we don’t exactly know why.

“In this specific incident however, the man was walking to work when four suspects attacked him with wooden sticks and beat him to a pulp.

“I was informed by members of the community that after hitting him he was stabbed numerous times with broken beer bottles. Apparently that did not quench their thirst for blood and they gouged out his eyes and left him for dead,” says the man. 

He adds that the deceased is believed to have been renting a shack at the informal settlement and his family is in the Eastern Cape. 

This is the third gang-related murder in the past six months in the township that the herald has reported on.