A MAN died in hospital after he was beaten by four men in an alleged racial attack in Middleburg, Mpumalanga.

A CCTV footage published by Multimeia live on Youtube shows a man and a friend being attacked by a group of men on Cowen Ntuli Road.



The attackers are seen repeatedly kicking and beating the victim, who was thrown to the pavement.



Security vehicles and police could be seen arriving on the scene later.



The four men were arrested, appeared in court, and then released.

Lawrence Nelumoni told Sowetan Live that he and his friend, 27-year-old Xolisile Ndzongana, were driving to Mhluzi township when they found a "couple of Afrikaners" blocking the road.



"I could see that they were drunk. They had beer bottles with them. They poured alcohol on us through our open windows when we asked if we could drive past."



The publication further reports the pair's attackers were allegedly calling them the k-word before apparently dragging Ndzongana out of the car.



When Nelumoni ran to help his friend‚ he too was attacked.



The attackers are alleged to have repeatedly kicked and beaten Ndzongana‚



Police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi told News24 on Friday that a man, in his 30s, was beaten on Sunday, July 8, and died in hospital the next day.



Hlathi said the group were arrested on Wednesday this week. They appeared in court on Thursday and the case was withdrawn.

"We are still waiting for instructions from the prosecution team. We are pleading for calm from the community on this issue and we ask the media to give us space to investigate the matter," he said.