In a disturbing revelation, a facility in Evander, near Secunda, Mpumalanga, has been discovered where numerous teenagers were reportedly held against their will and subjected to heinous acts of torture.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane, said the case began to unfold when one victim, who managed to escape from the facility, reported his harrowing experience.
He said on March 27, 2025, he was kidnapped from his home and subjected to a series of traumatic events until his escape on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Ndubane said his account included being forced to swim in a muddy dam, having his head covered in mud, and enduring physical beatings with a sjambok and pick pipe. The victim also revealed that he and others were deprived of sufficient food and proper hygiene throughout their captivity.
Following the victim's report, law enforcement sprang into action, tracing and apprehending two male suspects, aged 24 and 29, on April 9.
They are set to appear at the Evander Magistrate's Court on Friday, April 11, 2025.
Ndubane added that disturbing allegations have emerged suggesting that some of the victims were brought to the facility by their own parents, ostensibly under the guise of disciplinary measures.
In response to the horrific allegations, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, the acting provincial police commissioner in Mpumalanga, expressed strong condemnation of the incidents, demanding a rigorous investigation to hold all individuals involved accountable for these acts of inhumane treatment.