Flames of hate
19 May 2008, 17:30 GMT + 2
Halden Krog, The Times photographer Residents laugh as foreigner burns in his own blankets As we made our way through the Ramaphosa squatter camp in Reiger Park on Gauteng's East Rand, a woman's words made us freeze in horror. "They are burning people down there," she said. Related stories I ran to the nearest police officer and said: "The locals say they're burning a person at the other intersection." Officers leapt into a Casspir and a Nyala, and drove through the debris and barricades in the road. I ran after them, with other photographers following. Two hundred metres down the road we found the first man. He had been severely beaten and was semi- conscious. Police thought he was dead, but later realised he wasn't. About 25m from him a man was on his knees. There was a mattress covering him, and it was on fire. He, too, was alight. Police threw the mattress off him and kicked sand onto him to put out the flames. Another officer ran over with a fire extinguisher, pointed it at him and extinguished the flames. Other officers radioed for medical help. The man was alive, but barely. He groaned, but he could not speak. It was all over in 20 seconds. There was a concrete pillar lying near him, splattered with blood. We can only imagine what was done to him before he was set alight. The police stayed with him until the paramedics arrived, doing what they could . But residents gathered at the scene were laughing. Kim Ludbrook, a photographer, admonished them, and we reminded them this was human being and that what had happened was barbaric. Still they laughed. The burn victim, whose name has not been released, died last night in hospital. (less info)