​34-year-old Sfiso Masango from Soshanguve in Tshwane has been homeless after he escaped death from an angry community who wanted to burn him alive.
Three years ago Masango was almost a victim of “necklacing”, an act where a car tyre is placed on one’s neck and they pour a flammable liquid and set it alight. Sadly, that also happened to him.

He was saved by the police who took him to George Mukhari Hospital in Garankuwa, where he spent a few months recovering after both his legs were broken.

Masango said before being attacked, his mother received a phone call from an angry community that they were about to kill her son.

Her mother’s response was that they could do whatever they wanted with him. She was also tired of him. In no time, the house where his mother was staying with a stepfather was surrounded by an angry mob, who started hitting him with rocks and everything they could lay their hands on and placed tyres around his neck, fortunately police arrived.

After being discharged from hospital, he did not have a place to stay because his family did not want him anymore, and no one visited him even when he was still in hospital, and that’s when he realised that he was on his own.

He sought shelter under the bridge not far from Marabastad. It was here that he continued with his criminality. Masango said his new family used him to steal at a local shop.

“At time I was in pain, using crutches to walk but since I did not have someone to go to, I was forced to obey the rules of the ‘elders’ under the bridge to go and steal,” Masango explains.

“Life on the streets is a living hell as one experiences people who are dying from drugs and cold, but thanks to Kitso Lesedi Development Community Centre, which is funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development for giving me a second chance. I have completed courses in baking and computer end users. I am helping with cooking and preparing food for the homeless daily,” he said.

Masango has a National Senior Certificate and said this is the beginning of new leaf in his life and he wants to continue with his studies. His dream is to become a Drug Addiction Counsellor for the homeless.

Masango told Weekly Bulletin that he has now moved out from the shelter and was now renting a flat with his friend with the stipend they receive from Kitso Lesedi Development Community. He says he is looking for a job as a car mechanic, and he can also bake different kinds of cakes.

Masango shared his story during a visit to Kitso Lesedi Development Centre which is funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development to assess and monitor the implementation of social policy that both creates an enabling environment for and leads to the reduction in poverty. The Department also ensures the provision of social protection and social welfare services to all people who live in our land.