- Emmanuel Sithole was attacked by a mob who repeatedly stabbed him and beat him using a metal wrench
- South African gang carried out the sickening murder because Mr Sithole was born in neighbouring Mozambique
- Killing took place in Alexandra township near Johannesburg after a night of xenophobic looting and attacks
- Locals blame migrants from elsewhere in Africa for a lack of jobs - with neighbours turning on one another
- In a chilling twist Mr Sithole did not receive treatment at nearby medical centre because foreign-born duty doctor failed to turn up for work as he feared being attacked
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
A
man who fled to South Africa in the hope of a better life has been
brutally murdered by a mob who are believed to have attacked him purely
because he came from Mozambique.
Shocking
images capture the moment the armed gang surround Emmanuel Sithole and
repeatedly stab him with knives and bludgeon him with a wrench in
Alexandra township near Johannesburg.
In
a chilling twist the victim was left bleeding to death in a gutter
because a medical centre just 300 feet away was closed for the day
because the doctor who worked there was also a foreigner and feared
becoming a victim of a xenophobic attack himself.
Doctors tried in vain to save Mr
Sithole's life. His cause of death was later established as a direct
stab wound to the heart and his identity established from a mobile phone
found in his pocket
Attack: Shocking images capture the
moment the armed gang surround Emmanuel Sithole and repeatedly stab him
with knives and bludgeon him with a wrench in Alexandra township near
Johannesburg
Sick: As Emmanuel Sithole lay injured
in the gutter another thug saw what was going on and joined in the
attack using a knife to stab him repeatedly while the first attacked
continued to beat him with the wrench
The
brutal attack was captured on camera on Saturday morning by a
journalist from South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper who was in the
neighbourhood to interview a number of foreign-born shopkeepers who'd
had their businesses looted overnight.
But
as children played in the streets and onlookers stopped to inspect the
damage from the previous evening, the Mozambique-born passer-by was
brutally attacked without warning by a man carrying a metal wrench.
As Mr
Sithole sat injured in the gutter another thug saw what was going on
and joined in the attack using a knife to stab him repeatedly while the
first attacked continued to beat him with the wrench.
A
third attacker - wearing a grey hoodie - then reportedly entered the
fray, running over and kicking Mr Sithole in the head as he pulled out a
large butcher's knife. Before he had the chance to use the knife a
witness intervened and the three men fled the scene.
It
was too late for Mr Sithole, however, who managed to stumble along the
road pleading for help for his fatal injuries before collapsing fatally
injured in a rubbish-strewn gutter.
Under siege: The brutal attack was
captured on camera on Saturday morning by a journalist from South
Africa's Sunday Times newspaper who was in the neighbourhood to
interview a number of foreign-born shopkeepers who'd had their
businesses looted overnight
Beaten: As children played in the
streets and onlookers stopped to inspect the damage from the previous
evening, the Mozambique-born passer-by was brutally attacked without
warning by a man carrying a metal wrench
Savage: Another thug saw what was going on and joined in the attack using a knife to stab Emmanuel Sithole repeatedly
Witnesses,
including the journalist, took Mr Sithole in the back of a car to a
nearby medical centre but found it was closed because the foreign-born
duty doctor had failed to turn up for his shift because he feared being
attacked by the xenophobic hordes rampaging through the township.
During
the subsequent journey to a hospital, Mr Sithole's condition
deteriorated as he screamed and winced in agony before he eventually
fell unconscious.
Porters
initially refused to take the man into the hospital as he appeared to
be dead but, after spotting him choking he was rushed inside the
building where doctors tried in vain to save his life.
The
cause of death was later established as a direct stab wound to the
heart and his identity established from a mobile phone found in his
pocket.
Following
the attack, fearful immigrants in South Africa revealed they had been
targeted by longtime neighbors and people who warned they would assault
anyone carrying a foreign passport.
The
immigrants spoke at a tent camp where they are now living having fled
Alexandra when the mobs began attacking shops owned by those from other
African countries.
Harrowing: A third attacker then
entered the fray, running over and kicking Mr Sithole in the head as he
pulled out a large butcher's knife
Brave: Before the man had the chance to use the large knife, a witness intervened and the three attackers fled the scene
The
violence in Alexandra township followed anti-immigrant riots in and
around the coastal city of Durban that killed at least six people,
recalling a bout of similar unrest in South Africa in 2008 in which
about 60 people died.
The
message from the mobs in Alexandra was, 'We don't want to see people
with passports. We only want to see people with South African IDs,' said
Veronica Lechaea, who comes from the southern African country of
Lesotho and has lived in South Africa since 2008.
Lechaea,
who works as an office cleaner in Johannesburg, left her home in
Alexandra and sought refuge in a camp set up on the grounds of an
Anglican church by the charity Gift of the Givers.
She
said she makes about $250 a month and sends half of the money home to
Lesotho to support her 12-year-old son, who is living there with his
grandparents.
The
attacks stem from a perception that immigrants are taking jobs at the
expense of South Africans in a country with high unemployment.
Many
people from other countries have entered South Africa illegally, though
the government has said a large number are working legally and
contributing to economic development.
Some
African countries are arranging to repatriate their fearful citizens,
and there have been protests and calls in Malawi, Zimbabwe and other
regional nations for a boycott of South African goods.
Dying: Witnesses took Mr Sithole in
the back of a car to a nearby medical centre but found it was closed
because the foreign-born duty doctor had failed to turn up for his shift
because he feared being attacked by the xenophobic hordes rampaging
through the township
Fatally wounded: In a chilling twist
the victim was left bleeding to death in a gutter because the a medical
centre just 300 feet away was closed for the day because the doctor who
worked there was also a foreigner and feared becoming a victim of a
xenophobic attack himself
During the subsequent journey to
hospital, Mr Sithole's condition deteriorated as he screamed in agony
before eventually falling unconscious
South Africa has one of the biggest economies in Africa and it is unclear whether any boycott would have a significant impact.
Immigrants from Asia and the Middle East have also been affected by the violence in South Africa.
Sandra
Ngwanya, a chicken seller from Zimbabwe who also left her Alexandra
home for the Gift of the Givers camp, said her neighbors told her: ''We
are going to go door to door, taking your stuff and beating you. So we
want you to go back to your country.''
Ngwanya,
who has lived in South Africa since 2006 and married a South African,
said she left her two young children with cousins and hoped to go home
soon.
'They
are saying it's quiet. The police are all over the place. I want to go
and check on our stuff,' said Ngwanya, whose husband works in a mine
outside Johannesburg and planned to return to check on his family.
However, some people at the camp said the situation remained volatile.
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