We need to talk about how we normalised bullying and body shaming. Two kids posted a video dancing, having fun and just being kids. The comments broke me🥱🥱🥹🥹The cruelty😳😳I am so disappointed and sad. We raised the bar for everything except kindness🤦♀️🤦♀️kids deserve joy without fear of strangers online😔I am genuinely sad about where we are. We can do better
Nhlamulo’s mom says yes the son was caught stealing but still, “they killed him because he was Tsonga. If it was a Xhosa criminal, they wouldn’t have killed him”
Imagine using your own son’s death to spread propaganda
Betrayed While Trying to Help
A guy I knew once found himself caught in a situation that taught him a hard lesson about trust and loyalty.
He had recently started dating a girl when her phone was stolen during a night out at groove. She was upset and determined to get it back. By pure coincidence, he happened to know the guy who had taken the phone.
After the phone was tracked, he decided to help. He reached out to the guy and spent days convincing him to return it. Eventually, the guy agreed, but there was a condition: he wanted R800 in exchange for the phone.
The couple agreed not to involve the police because they believed that would ruin any chance of recovering the phone. Wanting to help, the boyfriend even asked a friend to lend him the money. His friend could only give him R400, so he and the girl agreed that she would come up with the remaining R400.
What he didn't know was that she had a completely different plan.
Later that night, police officers arrived at his house together with the girl's aunt and grandmother. The grandmother immediately started shouting, demanding the phone and accusing him of being involved in the theft.
He asked for a chance to explain, and one of the officers listened. After hearing his side of the story, everyone agreed that he would contact the guy the next morning and recover the phone.
Unfortunately, as soon as the guy learned that police had visited the boyfriend's house, he blocked him.
The next morning, he tried calling repeatedly without success. Determined to fix the situation, he went to the guy's home hoping his father could help. To his surprise, the family told him they had also been blocked.
After speaking with the father, the father managed to send a message asking his son to cooperate because the situation was putting another person's child in danger.
Thankfully, later that day, the guy called back.
They spoke and once again agreed to collect the phone together. Relieved, he called his girlfriend and told her the guy had finally responded. She agreed to meet them and said she would bring the money.
The guy then came to his house, and they headed toward the agreed meeting point. Along the way, he told him to stay hidden while he collected the money from the girl.
But while he was waiting, a police vehicle suddenly arrived.
A few minutes later, the girl showed up.
The first thing she asked was, "Where is the guy?"
The police then pulled him aside and told him that if he didn't help them find the suspect, he could be arrested himself. Feeling trapped, he called the guy. The guy answered and shared his location, but by the time they got there, he had already left.
The girl then informed the police that the suspect trusted her boyfriend because they knew each other, which was why communication had been possible.
Trying to help, he suggested that they visit the suspect's parents. They did exactly that. After speaking with the family, they asked him to call the guy again.
When he finally got through, the guy was furious.
"You betrayed me," he said. "How could you involve the police?"
The boyfriend insisted he had never contacted the police and had no idea they were involved.
Surprisingly, the guy believed him.
The two agreed to meet one final time at the place where he was hiding. However, the police had already given the boyfriend an ultimatum: help them find the suspect or risk being arrested himself.
Faced with that choice, he did what he felt he had to do.
When the guy arrived, they walked together toward a hiking area. Moments later, police officers moved in and arrested him.
That should have been the end of the story.
But around 3 a.m., the boyfriend received a message from the arrested guy accusing him of betrayal once again.
All he could do was explain that he had never planned any of it. He had never called the police. He had only been trying to help his girlfriend recover her stolen phone.