A saintly pastor turned vigilante who allegedly caught a thief stealing from his church took matters into his own hands by kidnapping the thug and mutilating him with a machete, a South African court heard.
Christian Solomon Mhalanga, 58, was furious when his son Enoch, 20, caught self-confessed criminal Dumisani Mahalngu, 29, on the church grounds in Vosman at dawn.
He called his father, Apostle Solomon, who arrived in his van and tied Mahalngu’s arms and legs before driving him into the remote bush outside the South African city.
The vigilante pastor then allegedly detained him, along with his son and four of his faithful flock, and placed his hands on a tree branch, where the thug was told he would be taught not to steal again.
The terrified Mahlangu told police in Emalahleni, Mpumulanga province, that the machete swung downward twice, cutting both his hands and leaving him bleeding profusely as they fled the scene.
After intensive police investigations, the alleged attackers were arrested on March 27 and appeared in court on Thursday on charges of attempted murder and kidnapping.
The mutilated Mahlangu had both hands cut off by a preacher after allegedly stealing from him
He begged the pastor to let him hold a hand, but the vigilante claims he said he wanted to send a message
Mahlangu told how he begged the pastor not to cut off both his hands – denying the allegations against him – but the furious father claimed he told him his friends ‘needed to see’ what happened to thieves.
Mahlangu later told police that the pastor and his five helpers left him to bleed to death in the forest as they fled the scene in the van.
As the victim staggered out of the forest, local workers screamed when they saw the blood-soaked man with no hands.
They reportedly refused to help but called security guards who rushed him to a local clinic.
“I walked to the main road and as they drove out of the woods,” he remembers.
‘I asked them to call an ambulance for me, but one of them said no. I got help from people who were cutting wood not far away, but they were also afraid to come near me because they saw that I had no hands.
‘They called security officers from a nearby mine. Security took me to a clinic in Kwa-Guqa.’
The victim was unable to tell police on March 20 where his hands had been cut off.
It would be another two weeks before he was released and could retrace his steps to the site.
Officers found the decomposing hands, stuffed them in bags as evidence and found a machete nearby that they believe is the weapon used to mutilate the man.
On Thursday, spiritual 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 he was discharged from hospital that he admitted he was a thief and a drug user, but that he had not robbed the local church.
The victim said he had taken a shortcut through the cemetery in the Kwa-Guqa area at 7am when he was cornered by armed men who accused him of theft.
Mahlangu said: “As I tried to run away I heard several gunshots so I stopped so they didn’t shoot me. Then they attacked me with sticks and fists and the pastor’s son called his father.
“The pastor came in his van and was armed with a panga (knife) and tied me up and put me in the van and they all got in and drove me to a remote area,” he told the Sowetan.
He added: “They took my hands off a tree branch and I begged him not to kill me and said I hadn’t stolen anything. The men held me and the pastor cut off my hands.’
“Yes, I admit I’ve stolen to buy drugs before, but I’ve never stolen from church. They found me with nothing,” he said.
Both the pastor and his son have been charged with attempted murder and kidnapping and were remanded in custody until April 9, when they will appear again for a bail hearing.
Officers found the decomposing hands and stuffed them in bags as evidence, and a machete nearby
Mahlangu said although he is known in the community as a thief and drug user, he has never stolen from the church
Apostle Solomon is known as a devout cleric who holds various local ministries.
The victim’s father, Johannes, 66, admitted that his son was a thief but did not deserve what happened to him. He said, “How can a pastor preach peace and then do this to my child?
‘Now I have to brush his teeth, feed him, wash him and take him to the toilet. “I hoped that when I die, he will be the one to carry my coffin out of the house,” he said.
A total of 2,124 people were killed in mafia attacks in South Africa last year.
The case was adjourned until April 9.