Kidnappers send gruesome videos of blood-soaked victim to his family

Sphelele Gcabashe was kidnapped and later killed by unknown assailants.

• Sphelele Gcabashe disappeared last Wednesday.
• His lifeless body was discovered in Umlazi the following day.
• The family said videos of a blood-soaked Gcabashe were circulated on social media. 

The kidnappers of a Durban man who was assaulted and tortured recorded the gruesome acts and sent the videos to his loved ones.

The family of Sphelele Gcabashe, from Umlazi, south of Durban, last saw him on Wednesday.

He then received a call from unknown people for a meeting in the Durban city centre.

However, he never returned home.

Instead, videos of a blood-soaked Gcabashe, which were captured in an unknown location, were sent directly to his relatives. In addition, other videos were posted on his WhatsApp status.

His uncle, Bhekisisa Mncube, told News24 that, in one video, Gcabashe conveyed his last words – and, in another, his lifeless body could be seen.

Mncube said some of the children in his family were among the recipients of the videos.

He feared they might be traumatised for life.

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He said one of the children was his niece, who had also witnessed a traumatic incident last year which claimed her father’s life.

“This kind of trauma will live with the family for years to come. We are completely devastated. I can’t even describe the feeling,” he said.

Mncube said Gcabashe’s kidnappers had demanded a ransom of R36 000.

Mncube told News24 the family hoped the police would get to the bottom of the case.

He appealed to Police Minister Bheki Cele to assign the docket to the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Team.

A second family member, who asked not to be identified due to safety concerns, said when they called Gcabashe’s phone, he answered and said his kidnappers wanted money.

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“When we called his phone, he asked for R36 000. He was in distress and said he didn’t recognise the location he was in. He asked that we hurry because these people were going to kill him,” said the family member.

Facebook posts of Gcabashe’s lifeless body led the family to the township’s P-Section, where he was dumped.

“People in the area said he’d been lying there for hours. He died shortly before we arrived at the scene. It will be difficult to get through this trauma. He was badly injured. When we arrived, he had turned green,” said the family member.

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a case of murder was being investigated.