Daily Sun (August 15 2014) - HIS ONLY sin was carrying a Bible and preaching to his neighbours.
But on this winter's afternoon he took his preaching one house too far . . .
AND IT COST HIM HIS LIFE!
When the beating started, Jonas Baloyi (27) tried to run away, but the young evangelist, weakened by five days of fasting, got only as far as a small stream.
When his attackers caught up with him, they stripped him naked, dragged him over the ground and started assaulting him with sticks and fists.
In a video clip taken at the time of the beating at the Schoongezicht farm near Ekangala, Bronkhorstspruit in Mpumalanga on 5 August, the naked man is clearly dazed.
Men are hitting him with sticks while another is pouring water from a bucket over him. A big dog runs in circles, biting at the man's legs and buttocks. An elderly woman tries to stop the men by pulling them away. She does not succeed. It appears that Jonas was on his way to work when he decided to knock on a few doors to spread the word of God.
He was welcomed at the first two houses, but the beating started when he went to the third house. His mother, Gladys Baloyi (48), was at work at the time.
"I got home after 5pm and went to the house where he was assaulted and found him lying down with his head swollen," said Gladys. "I got a private car to take him to the clinic."
But Jonas was already dead when he arrived at the Dark City Clinic. "At least my son died serving God," Gladys said. KwaMhlanga police know about the video, but according to the family the cops said they do not use technology to catch suspects. In desperation the family have now come to Daily Sun looking for justice. The dead man's aunt, Esther Mpashi, said Jonas had a right to live. "I am sad that despite the evidence we have, police say they do not use technology," she said. Jonas was buried last week Saturday without his Bible and his clothes.
"They should give us back his clothes and his Bible. We hope that justice will be served," said Esther. Ekangala Police Station spokeswoman Constable Zanele Vilakazi confirmed that two officers responded to the scene and opened a docket which was transferred to KwaMhlanga. KwaMhlanga police spokeswoman Sergeant Zimkhona Mahlangu said a murder case was opened. "We are still investigating as there are now two cases after the suspect's house was burned last week," she said.
See the video at www.facebook.com/sadailysun.
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