A black South African TV and radio presenter has said he was the victim of a racially motivated attack after stopping to help a group of white people whose car had overturned.
Samora Mangesi tweeted photos of the injuries he sustained in the alleged assault, which he said happened on Friday.
He and his two female friends were called “monkeys”, he said.
When they asked why they were being insulted, he was beaten unconscious.
On Friday night I was the victim of a racially motivated attack. After stopping to check on a group of young white people whose car had overturned, they called my friends & I Monkeys. When we engaged them on why we were being called such, they beat me up until I was unconscious. pic.twitter.com/E9DOGpPacJ
— SAMORA (@Samora_Mangesi) March 13, 2019
During the alleged assault in the city of Johannesburg, Mangesi, who is a presenter for SABC, said he received injuries to his face and was bruised along the side of his body after being kicked on the ground.
“Even whilst I was being put in the ambulance, one of these guys tried to run my friend over with his bakkie [pick-up truck] and the paramedics had to intervene.”
In the days following the attack, his memory was “very sporadic”, he said.
“As much as they say I was awake, I don’t remember being in the ambulance, arriving at the hospital nor much of the treatment.”
He thought about “letting it go and just continuing with my life”, but has now reported the incident to police, he added.
News of the assault has sparked anger on local social media and calls for a police investigation, reports the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.
