Image via: Twitter
Watch: Silvermine rangers strong-arm star cyclist Nicholas Dlamini
A video was shared on Twitter of cyclist Nicholas Dlamini being manhandled by Silvermine Nature Reserve rangers.
Image via: Twitter
A video posted to Twitter on 27 December 2019 shows South Africa’s star cyclist Nicholas Dlamini being brutally assaulted by rangers of the Silvermine section of the Table Mountain National Park, in Cape Town.
It is alleged that the rangers broke his arm during the incident.
Robert Vogel, “a passionate cyclist” according to his Twitter bio, posted a response to the video saying that Dlamini is currently in hospital with his arm allegedly broken by Silvermine rangers.
“Arm broken. He’s in hospital. Silvermine rangers,” said Vogel.
“I spoke to the senior section ranger for the area, but he did not want to comment on what happened,” he added.
The video does not specify when the incident took place, but according to Vogel’s post, Dlamini is in hospital at the moment.
Watch: Nicholas Dlamini assaulted by Silvermine rangers
What can be seen in the video
In the video, four to five rangers in uniform can be seen handling Dlamini in an extremely rough manner next to a Table Mountain National Park vehicle.
One of the rangers can be seen holding him up against the vehicle. Dlamini is dressed in cycling gear, wearing a helmet.
Dlamini can be heard saying: “Please take a video,” before rangers take him to the back of the vehicle to be put inside.
The video was posted on Twitter by Lawrence Lindeque, but at this stage we cannot confirm that he was the person who took the video.
One of the rangers approaches the person taking the video with Dlamini’s sunglasses. It looks as though he is asking the person to keep the glasses for Dlamini.
The ranger then tells him that he is not allowed to take a video.
The person says: “He [Dlamini] asked me to take a video.”
Another ranger intervenes and says: “Yes, but did you ask our permission to take a video?”
One of the rangers can also be seen asking the person filming for their permit, which he briefly shows to them.
Why was Nicholas Dlamini assaulted by Silvermine officers?
It is unclear why the rangers were manhandling Dlamini in that manner. When the video was posted, there was no context provided as to what took place before the incident.
TheSouthAfrican.com attempted to get hold of Lindeque, but he was unable to respond at the time of publication.
The incident could have taken place because Dlamini did not have a permit or because an argument ensued over something completely unrelated.
Who is Nicholas Dlamini?
Born in Capricorn Park in Cape Town, Dlamini has been making waves on the cycling circuit for a few years now.
Dlamini currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Dimension Data. In August 2019, he was named in the start list for 2019 Vuelta an España.
He is also part of Team Dimension Data Riding for Qhubeka.
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