Mqanduli teen's life cut short over stolen bread, jam and porridge - ‘He was desperate and hungry'
On May 7, 2025, a tragic incident unfolded in Mqanduli, Eastern Cape, where the theft of half a loaf of bread led to the brutal death of a 14-year-old boy. His life was taken by neighbors who viewed the act of stealing bread as an unforgivable crime.
Read more | Family of Mpumalanga woman axed by baby daddy over Sassa card speaks out
In a shocking and disturbing incident, the Dlulwana family has been left reeling and mourning the loss of their 14-year-old boy while praying for the full recovery of their 16-year-old boy who was also implicated in the crime for allegedly stealing money.
The family spokesperson Manini Dlulwana narrated to DRUM the events that led to the boys' demise.
'My nephews were beaten as they were accused of stealing from the neighbour's house. It's two of them, the other one is 14 years old, who's deceased, and the other is 16 years old. The 14-year-old wasn't caught red handed, he only got exposed when his cousin, the 16 -year-old was caught trespassing and entering through the window to steal money, and they interrogated him about the other things that usually go missing in the house, including the half of bread, jam and instant porridge but he (16-year-old) had no knowledge of any of them and they eventually found out it was the 14-year-old who stole the other stuff,' he said.
Read more | Bullied teen tells mom if perpetrators are not arrested she'll kill herself
He further stated that the two boys are related as they share the same surname but didn't reside in the same household, he says that their families are struggling to make ends meet, and poverty may have driven the boys to steal out of desperation and hunger.
'The boys still have parents, both of them, however they're not working and are struggling to make ends meet and hunger may have played a significant role in the boys' decision to engage in theft,' he added.
He also revealed that the boys were subjected to extreme physical abuse by four adults as their punishment, including being beaten with knobkieries and having salt poured onto their bodies or wounds so as to cause further suffering and inflict maximum pain.
'The 14-year-old suffered tremendous pain and eventually succumbed to his wounds on May 11, while the 16-year-old is currently in a critical but stable condition fighting for his life in hospital. However, the perpetrators were arrested but got out on R500 bail each on May 22 and are expected to appear in court on June 15,' he stated.
Read more | 'I just want justice for my husband'- Cornubia Mall hit and run leaves widow devastated
As the family grapples with the trauma and grief of their beloved son, they are united in their demand for justice. Yet, their efforts are being frustrated by the slow pace of the investigation and the apparent lack of progress. The family's pain is compounded by the sense that their son's memory is not being honoured or respected through the justice system, leaving them feeling helpless.
'We're really deepened with heartbreak and sadness as a family, and I don't think we would ever heal or get past this. The only thing that would suffice from this heartache is seeing justice taking its course, but the police are derailing the case, making the pain even more unbearable as there's nothing tangible they're telling us as a family, they were supposed to visit us, but they haven't come.'
Read more | Kwa-Komani learner traumatised after losing fingers in woodworking class
In retrospect, he believes that therapy could have been a valuable resource in helping them navigate the trauma and pain of their loss. However, given the passage of time, they have come to rely on their own coping mechanisms, learning to take things one day at a time.
'If there could've been anything done for us, therapy or counselling would have been it, because this really came as a blow to us as the whole thing was untimely, and it's not just one, but two of our sons affected, but time has gone by now and we've found ways to deal with the grief on our own,' he concluded.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
16 minutes ago
- CBS News
Minneapolis man sentenced to 25.5 years for shooting, killing man who interjected in a fight
A Minneapolis man was sentenced Tuesday to 25.5 years for shooting and killing a man who got involved in a fight with his mother. Michael Garrett, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder on April 28. An autopsy showed that the victim, Dijon Legore-Banks, had been shot eight times. "Dijon's loved ones are in my thoughts as our prosecution comes to an end," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. "Mr. Garrett involved himself in an altercation and escalated it needlessly by restoring to extreme violence. Today's sentence holds him accountable and protects our community." Garrett has 259 days of credit for time already served. Charging documents say the fatal shooting was preceded by a fight between several women on the 1100 block of Morgan Avenue North in Minneapolis. Legore-Banks "interjected" in the fight and said something to one of the women, investigators said. Garrett, whose mother was allegedly involved in the fight, pulled up in a vehicle and shot at Legore-Banks, documents said. Legore-Banks died at a hospital.
CNN
42 minutes ago
- CNN
Law enforcement raids home where escaped fugitive filmed apparent video claiming innocence, asking Lil Wayne and Trump for help, source says
People in entertainment Donald TrumpFacebookTweetLink Follow Law enforcement agencies raided and searched the home where they believe a serial escapee, who vanished from a New Orleans jail two weeks ago, may have filmed a video where he claimed his innocence and called on rapper Lil Wayne and President Donald Trump for help, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN. Antoine Massey and nine other inmates broke out of the Orleans Justice Center on May 16 – taking advantage of bad locks, stolen bedding and a hungry jail employee to avoid capture. Eight of the escapees have been caught – mostly in New Orleans. Only Massey, 32, and convicted murderer Derrick Groves, 27, are still on the run. Massey has evaded hundreds of authorities in a multistate manhunt. But over the weekend, a man who strongly resembles the fugitive – including with three distinctive tattoos on his face – appeared in someone's kitchen in a video on Instagram. 'My name is Antoine Massey. I'm asking for help. I was one of the ones that was let out of Orleans Parish jail,' the man says in the video, shot in the kitchen of an unknown home. 'I'm asking – please – for help: YoungBoy, Meek Mills (sic) … people that have been through the system that we know is corrupt. Lil Wayne. Donald Trump.' He made a personal appeal to Lil Wayne, claiming the two share longtime family connections. 'Please help me. Lil Wayne: This is Big Antoine's son that's talking right now. I'm Little Antoine. I was in your mama wedding when she married. I was the ring boy. Lil Wayne, please help me, bro.' The man also holds a document to the camera – what he says is a stamped affidavit that proves his innocence. Massey was charged with domestic abuse involving strangulation and motor vehicle theft. But he said his ex-girlfriend, Diamond White, recanted her allegation of abuse in the affidavit. White has not responded to CNN's request for comment. She was arrested after allegedly helping Massey after his escape, Louisiana State Police said. In the video, the man says White 'thought that I was dealing with another woman. That's why she did what she did.' While some of the stamped affidavit is blurry in the footage, it includes White's full name and the words 'MASSEY never physically came in contact with me.' CNN has asked the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office about the authenticity of the affidavit shown in the video. The video was posted on what appeared to be a burner Instagram account and has since been removed. Authorities have not confirmed whether the man in the video is Massey, but 'there's a good chance it's him,' Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair said. 'If he's saying he is innocent, he can come turn himself in,' Fair told CNN on Tuesday. 'He can go through the legal process, and it will resolve itself one way or another.' Louisiana State Police, the agency leading the manhunt, declined to verify whether the man in the footage is Massey. The speaker in the video asking for the public's help laments that he 'couldn't even afford a lawyer to prove my innocence.' The Orleans Public Defenders office said they do not currently represent Massey. 'Mr. Massey has previously been represented by our office,' the agency told CNN Tuesday, but 'he declined a public defender for the current charge.' Identifying himself as Massey, the man in the video refuted claims he threatened to shank jail maintenance worker Sterling Williams if he didn't turn off the water in a cell to aid the escape. Williams told investigators he was instructed to turn the water off inside that cell, and one of the escapees threatened to 'shank him if he did not.' Instead of reporting the inmate, he turned the water off as directed, allowing for the successful escape, the attorney general's office said. Williams was one of the first suspects arrested in connection with the jailbreak. He faces 10 counts related to the escapees and one count of malfeasance in office for acting 'under the order of an inmate,' his arrest warrant affidavit states. His attorney has said one of the jail's deputies asked Williams to fix the toilet because it was overflowing. In the video, the man says it's ludicrous to think he could threaten to shank Williams because maintenance workers at the jail are usually accompanied by guards when around inmates to help prevent possible contraband or bribery. 'The guy who said that I threatened him with a shank – the maintenance guy – how could I threaten you with a shank, if you can't come around me?' he said. 'You cannot come (near the inmates) without a deputy right behind you. Because if they just let you (near the inmates), you could be persuaded to run drugs or anything like that.' Massey's history of escaping custody dates back to 2007. When he was 15, Massey broke out of a New Orleans juvenile detention center after being arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and aggravated assault, according to A broken lock at the center allowed Massey and five other juveniles to access metal shackles, which they used to shatter a window and escape, reported. The teen remained on the run for more than two weeks before authorities found him on an interstate in east New Orleans. Two years later, Massey faced a charge of attempted simple escape in Orleans Parish, according to online court records. CNN reached out to the parish sheriff's office for more details about the charge. Then, when he was 27, Massey and another inmate broke out of a detention center in northern Louisiana in broad daylight by cutting and slipping under a chain-link fence in the exercise yard, Chief James Mardis of the Morehouse Parish Sheriff's Office told CNN. Authorities believe the two fugitives were picked up by a vehicle with Texas tags. Massey was captured later that day in Texas. Massey has also twice cut off electronic ankle monitors, according to Matt Dennis, an employee with the company that operates the monitors, who spoke to CNN affiliate WDSU. Court records from late 2023 alleged Massey had 'tampered and/or removed the court-ordered GPS monitor.' Dennis told CNN affiliate WVUE he was 'astonished' that someone with Massey's history of escape was being held on the first floor of the New Orleans jail. 'There isn't an ounce of this man's history that doesn't say 'escape,'' he said. As for the most recent escape, authorities are searching Louisiana and beyond – 'following leads all over the place,' Fair said. Officials announced $50,000 in reward money for anyone with information leading to the arrest of either Massey or Groves. The combined $100,000 offered comes from Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans, the FBI and other agencies. CNN's Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.
American Military News
2 hours ago
- American Military News
Supreme Court allows AR-15, high-capacity magazine bans to continue
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed a Maryland ban on AR-15 semiautomatic rifles and a Rhode Island ban on high-capacity magazines to remain in effect by declining two cases challenging the state bans on Monday. According to Fox News, the cases against Maryland's ban on AR-15 semiautomatic rifles and Rhode Island's ban on high-capacity magazines were appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts previously upheld the bans. The outlet noted that Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Justice Samuel Alito indicated that they would have agreed to review the cases challenging the two state bans. Fox News reported that the Supreme Court's decision not to review Maryland's ban against AR-15 rifles upholds the previous ruling made by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which claimed that states banning AR-15 rifles did not violate the Second Amendment. According to the outlet, the 4th Circuit claimed that allowing AR-15 rifles to be protected under the Constitution based on the weapon's popularity would potentially allow any weapon to 'gain constitutional protection merely because it becomes popular before the government can sufficiently regulate it.' READ MORE: New gun law bans some semiautomatic guns in Colorado In a Monday statement, Justice Brett Kavanaugh explained that states such as Maryland that ban U.S. citizens from owning AR-15 rifles are 'somewhat of an outlier' since 41 of the 50 states allow people to purchase AR-15 rifles. 'In short, under this Court's precedents, the Fourth Circuit's decision is questionable. Although the Court today denies certiorari, a denial of certiorari does not mean that the Court agrees with a lower-court decision or that the issue is not worthy of review,' Kavanaugh wrote. He added, 'Additional petitions for certiorari will likely be before this Court shortly and, in my view, this court should and presumably will address the AR-15 issue soon, in the next Term of two.' Thomas expressed his disagreement with the Supreme Court's decision not to review appeals against Maryland and Rhode Island's bans on Monday. Thomas claimed that the Fourth Circuit put 'too high a burden on the challengers to show that the Second Amendment presumptively protected their conduct. And, its determination that AR-15s are dangerous and unusual does not withstand scrutiny.' 'I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America,' Thomas wrote. 'That question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR-15 owners throughout the country. We have avoided deciding it for a full decade.'
