5.8.11. In New Mabvuku, the Commission had a focus group discussion with five (5) men and six (6) women. They said the men in their area fell victim because they stay near Kamunhu Shopping Centre where shops including Choppies supermarket were looted. They said no one in their street and area looted because of the experience they had in the protests of 1998 when Bata Shop was looted at the Shopping Centre and all people staying around there were later beaten by the police. 5.8.12. A man who was beaten by soldiers said he had just arrived home from work around 2000 hrs when the soldiers arrived. They asked him to come out of the house and told him to lie down looking into his house. They beat him using sjamboks. He tried to explain that he had just arrived from work and that they could call his employer to confirm but they proceeded to beat him. He was assisted by his employer who took him to a private medical centre for treatment. A neighbor also narrated his ordeal that he was beaten until he could cry no more. 5.8.13. Another man in the same area said it was around 2000hrs when they were watching news when he realized that the soldiers were knocking at his neighbour’s house. He switched off his lights. They broke into his house and took him outside and asked him to lie down. There were four soldiers and two police officers in uniform. The police officers started beating him with sjamboks and open hands. They took him to the road and beat him again. They started taking other people and continued beating him up. Since there was light, he managed to identify the two police officers as they used to control a fuel queue at Total Service Station in Mabvuku. He asked them why they were beating him since they knew him from the fuel queue. They said it was because they had looted shops. They later released him. He alleged that his Page 32 of 68