Mom relieved after son is burnt to death

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Cape Town - The traumatised mother of a teenager who was brutally beaten by a mob before being burnt alive said that she is “relieved” her son is dead. Vuyelwa Dlakehla, 40, made the startling admission just hours after she heard her 18-year-old son was necklaced in the latest mob justice killing to rock the Cape. It is the 14th fatal necklacing recorded by cops since the beginning of the year. Sakhumzi Dlakehla’s charred remains were discovered lying face down nestled between large rocks on an open field at Siqalo Informal Settlement near Samora Machel early on Sunday. The teenage thief was caught by angry residents as he was walking home on Saturday afternoon.

His mutilated and burnt corpse lay out in the open ground for the whole night as nobody bothered to call the cops until Sunday morning.

And his own mom admitted she didn’t think of calling the police when she learned of her child’s murder.

“I got the call at around 5pm on Saturday that residents had caught him with stolen goods,” Vuyelwa said.

“I knew that the community would not just beat him for no apparent reason.

“He was a thief who regularly broke into people’s homes.”

The mother of five said her eldest son terrorised everyone in her household.

“He would get home at 1am, demanding I make him food or kick the pots saying that my cooking was s***,” added Vuyelwa.

“He would steal groceries from the house and sell it for tik.

“The community did the right thing and I feel relieved now that he is gone.

“My other children can come home and live in peace. I’m now going to fetch my 13-year-old daughter to come live with us.”

Sakhumzi’s aunt Thandokazi Ngombane, 25, witnessed her nephew’s horrific death.

She said the teenager begged the mob to spare his life, but they ignored his pleas.

“They dragged him into the house where he pointed out many of the stolen goods,” the aunt said.

“They found an amplifier, groceries, payslips, IDs, a stove, a TV and many other things.

“The group beat him with sticks and knobkierries. They broke his leg by hitting it with a large brick so that he won’t run away.

“He cried the whole time and kept asking for forgiveness. I was not even allowed to speak to him.

“They dragged him to the field at around 9pm and by then his head was all mushy and both his legs were broken from the waist down.

“He was set alight and he cried out once. I knew that he had just taken his last breath.”

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut has confirmed that no arrests have been made yet.

“It is believed the victim was severely assaulted by members of the community and set alight in a brutal act of violence,” he said.

* This article was published in the Daily Voice