MAN CARRYING HANDBAG THROWN OFF TRAIN

The Star has reported that a Boksburg man was thrown off a Metrorail train by officials in May for carrying a woman’s handbag.

The newspaper says that student Neo Sobuza has still not been compensated by Metrorail following the homophobic attack.

Sobuza claims that he was harassed by ticket inspectors when they found him holding a woman’s handbag on a train from Boksburg to Johannesburg.

The men reportedly emptied the contents of the bag and found make-up and a women deodorant, which further infuriated them. They also allegedly stole his money and called him “a woman without breasts”.

“When we reached Ellis Park station, the train stopped to pick up passengers. As it was pulling off, they opened the doors and pushed me out. I rolled three times, injuring my back,” Sobuza told the newspaper.

Sobuza claims that he was then beaten by Metrorail guards at Ellis Park station when he tried to report the first attack.

He described the assault as “clearly homophobic”.

Sobuza says that he had laid charges against his attackers with Metrorail but that no action has been taken and that his dockets have been lost seven times.

Metrorail’s protection and security services says that it has investigated the claims and that there is no evidence of the attacks.