A saintly pastor-turned-vigilante who allegedly caught a thief stealing from his church took matters into his own hands by kidnapping the criminal and mutilating him with a machete, a South African court has heard.
Christian Solomon Mhalanga, 58, was enraged when his son Enoch, 20, caught confessed criminal Dumisani Mahalngu, 29, in the Vosman church grounds at dawn.
He called his father, the Apostle Solomon, who arrived in his truck and tied Mahalngu’s arms and legs before taking him to a remote forest on the outskirts of the South African city.
The vigilant shepherd, along with his son and four worshipers from his flock, allegedly held him down and placed his hands on a tree branch, where they told the criminal that they would teach him not to steal again.
A terrified Mahlangu told police in Emalahleni, Mpumulanga province, that the machete came down twice, cutting both his hands and leaving him bleeding profusely as they fled the scene.
Following an intense police investigation, the alleged attackers were arrested on March 27 and appeared in court on Thursday charged with attempted murder and kidnapping.
Mutilated Mahlangu had both hands cut off by pastor after allegedly robbing him
He begged the pastor to let him lend a hand, but the vigilante claims he said he wanted to send a message.
Mahlangu told how he had begged the pastor not to cut off both his hands, denying the charges against him, but the enraged father claimed he told him his friends “needed to see” what was happening to the thieves.
Mahlangu later told police that the pastor and his five helpers left him to bleed to death in the bush while they fled the scene in the van.
As the victim staggered out of the woods, local workers screamed at the sight of the blood-soaked man with no hands.
They allegedly refused to help, but called security guards, who rushed him to a local clinic.
“I walked to the main road and as they came out of the woods,” he recalled.
“I asked them to call an ambulance but one of them told me no. I got help from people who were cutting wood not far away, but they were also afraid to approach me because they could see that I have no hands.
‘They called security agents from a nearby mine. Security took me to a clinic in Kwa-Guqa.
The victim was unable to tell police where her hands had been cut off on March 20.
It would be another two weeks before he was freed and able to retrace his steps to the site.
Officers found the decomposing hands, bagged them as evidence and recovered a machete nearby that they believe may be the weapon used to mutilate the man.
On Thursday, churchman Apostle Solomon and his son Enoch appeared before the Emalahleni Magistrates’ Court charged with attempted murder and kidnapping, but the case was adjourned.
Mahlangu told the Sowetan who interviewed him after being discharged from hospital that he admitted he was a thief and a drug user, but had not stolen from the local church.
The victim said he was taking a shortcut through the cemetery at 7am in the Kwa-Guqa area when he was cornered by armed men who had accused him of robbery.
Mahlangu said: ‘When I was trying to flee I heard several gunshots so I stopped so they wouldn’t shoot me, then they attacked me with sticks and fists and the shepherd’s son called his father.
“The pastor showed up in his truck and he was armed with a panga (cleaver) and he tied me up and put me in the truck and they all got in and took me to a secluded area,” he told the Sowetan.
He added: ‘They put their hands on a tree branch and I begged them not to kill me and I told them I hadn’t stolen anything. The men held me down and the pastor cut off my hands.”
‘Yes, I admit I have stolen to buy drugs before, but I have never stolen from church. They didn’t find me with anything,’ she said.
Both the pastor and his son have been charged with attempted murder and kidnapping and remained in custody until April 9, when they will reappear for a bail hearing.
Officers found the decomposing hands, bagged them as evidence, and a machete nearby.
Mahlangu said that although he is known in the community as a thief and drug addict, he has never stolen from the church.
The Apostle Solomon is well known as a devout clergyman who undertook several local ministries.
The victim’s father, Johannes, 66, admitted his son was a thief but did not deserve what happened to him, saying: ‘How can a pastor preach peace and then do this to my son?’
‘Now I have to brush his teeth, feed him, wash him and take him to the bathroom. I was hoping that when he dies, he’ll be the one to carry my coffin out of this house,’ he said.
In South Africa, a total of 2,124 people died in mob justice attacks last year.
The case was adjourned until April 9.