Mum: My son died for a beer crate!

SEEING their son helplessly lying half-naked on the floor, covered with blood and ice cubes, they knew it was the end for him.

The family of Machaba in Klipgat near Mabopane, Tshwane, is shattered and traumatized. This is after their son, Thabo Machaba (34), was allegedly beaten to death on Monday morning, 17 June.

According to his father Simon Machaba (69), they were called by a friend of their son.

"He said that Thabo was beaten up and that we must come see him," he said.

Simon said he got the shock of his life when he arrived at the scene.

"My son was stripped down, his whole body was in blood, and he had a bunch of ice put on his private part," he said.

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Simon said immediately when he got there, a man who owned a tavern in their area started kicking his son in front of him.

"He said that I must ask my son what he did. When I tried to talk to him, he couldn't even utter a single word. He was in so much pain," he said.

The tavern owner finally told him that his son was caught stealing.

"There was a crate of beer that was put next to my son, and they said that he was trying to steal it. So, they beat him up, forcing him to reveal who else he was with," he said.

"They were helpless and I didn't know what to say.

Thabo's mother, Florina Machaba (65), said that she tried to cover her son with a blanket, but they wouldn't allow her to do that.

"When I saw him like that, I wanted to cover him up because it was humiliating and he was in so much pain," she said.

She said that her son was a nyaope addict and that he had stolen from people before.

"Nyaope addicts steal, and we are not supporting it. But they killed our son and that's not fair," she said.

The parents said that they want their son's killers to be arrested.

"We don't want anything from him but just for him to rot in jail," they said.

Gauteng police spokeswoman Colonel Noxolo Kweza said an inquest docket has been opened.

"No arrests at this stage and investigations are continuing," she said.

When Daily Sun asked Kweza if Thabo was beaten up by a person or a group of people, she said: "At this stage, we can't confirm any of that."