In a devastating case of mistaken identity, a grieving mother watched helplessly as her 18-year-old son, Sipho, was brutally burned alive by community members who accused him of a crime he did not commit.
The tragic incident occurred shortly after the family returned from the funeral of the woman’s father. Exhausted and heartbroken, the mother and her son had just alighted from a taxi when chaos erupted.
“We had just come from my father’s funeral. As we started walking, a woman suddenly screamed, ‘Vimbani, vimbani!’ which means ‘catch him!’” the mother recalled tearfully. “I was confused, and so was my son. He started running out of fear. I shouted, ‘Don’t run, Sipho!’ but he was scared and kept running.”
Within moments, a mob chased after the terrified young man. They caught him and began beating him mercilessly as his mother screamed and pleaded for mercy.
“Please stop! He hasn’t done anything,” she cried. But her pleas fell on deaf ears.
The woman who started the commotion accused Sipho of stealing her phone and money. “She pointed at my son and said, ‘That’s the thief! He didn’t even change his shirt.’ I tried to explain that we had been away for a week attending a funeral, but no one listened,” the mother recounted.
Tragically, the situation escalated when the mob decided to carry out what they called “instant justice.” They forced tires around Sipho’s neck, poured petrol over his body, and set him alight.
“I watched my son burn alive. I screamed, cried, begged them to stop—but they didn’t. My son screamed for help, and then he went quiet.”
Moments later, the unimaginable truth emerged. The real thief had been caught elsewhere. The woman’s own son ran to the scene shouting, “Mama, we caught him! The one who stole your phone and money is arrested!”
But it was too late. Sipho had already been reduced to ashes.
“The woman screamed, ‘You killed the wrong boy!’ The crowd went silent for a moment, then everyone started walking away like nothing had happened. I knelt beside my son’s burnt body and cried. He was my only child, and they took him from me for nothing,” the heartbroken mother said.
To this day, she says she cannot sleep peacefully. “Every night I hear his screams. The woman still lives with her son, like nothing ever happened, while I live with pain and memories that will never fade.”
This heartbreaking story is a painful reminder of the dangers of mob justice — a brutal act that continues to claim innocent lives in many communities. While communities often act out of anger and frustration, innocent people like Sipho end up paying the ultimate price.
“Mob justice is not justice,” the mother says. “It is murder. My son didn’t deserve to die this way.”
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