A routine request to move a vehicle turned into a humiliating and violent ordeal for East London security guard Xolisile Nongodlwana, who was allegedly assaulted after confronting men whose car had blocked another vehicle at Ebuhlanti Marina Glen.
According to Nongodlwana, his “mistake” was asking the occupants to move their car. In a Facebook post, he said the response he received was: “Xa singayisusi uzokwenza ntoni?“ — loosely translated as, “What are you going to do if we don’t move it?”
In a video that has gone viral on social media, the suspects can allegedly be seen kicking and manhandling Nongodlwana.
The incident occurred last week at Ebuhlanti Marina Glen in East London.
On Thursday, Nongodlwana shared his account of the incident on Facebook, saying what was meant to be a normal workday quickly turned traumatic.
“It was meant to be a normal day, going to work. However, it changed when I asked one of the gentlemen in the video to move their car, as it had blocked another,” he wrote.
“One of the guys grabbed me by my neck, and things got worse, as seen in the video.”
He described the incident as humiliating and degrading, saying it left him feeling “useless” and fearful that he might lose his job.
However, Nongodlwana said he has since been overwhelmed by support from social media users, some of whom were able to identify the alleged perpetrators.
One of the suspects has been identified as an employee of Baagi Technology, a company contracted to Exxaro Resources.
In a statement, Exxaro Resources confirmed it was aware of the circulating video depicting the assault.
“One of the alleged suspects in the video has been identified as an employee of one of our contractors, Baagi Technology,” the company said.
“Exxaro Resources does not tolerate any behaviour that is contrary to our values, and the alleged suspect’s access to our company has been immediately revoked. In line with our code of conduct, Baagi Technology is attending to this matter with the urgency it deserves.”
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brig Nobuntu Gantana confirmed that two suspects have been arrested and face charges of common assault. “The investigation remains active, with further arrests likely. No further information can be shared at this stage,” she said.
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