Warning Distressing content
Horrifying footage of a black man being forced into a coffin by two white men while they threaten to burn him alive has emerged online.
The man, who The Independent report is 27-year-old Victor Rethabile Mlotshwa, was being tortured by Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both of whom are South African farmers.
Both men were charged with kidnapping and assaulting Mr Mlotshwa back in November of this year and were remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing in January.
The pair are believed to have recorded the attack and the shocking video shows the men forcing the crying man into a coffin before pushing the lid down on his head.
According to the News24 website the men are saying: ‘Come, come. We want to throw the petrol on’ and threatening to put a snake in the coffin with him.
Speaking to ENCA television Mr Mlotshwa explained how he was walking to the town of Middelburg and was using a short cut when the two men spotted him.
He said:
They accused me of trespassing. Then they beat me up and I had to run away. They tied me with cable tie and took me to the nearest farm. They beat me up and forced me into the coffin.
The incident has reignited fierce pubic debate about continued racially motivated attacks across South Africa, where the legacy of apartheid continues to cause division between white and black people.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.