‘Pablo’ releases more footage of ‘Zanzou torture’ on new X account, raises questions

The man who leaked disturbing footage of five men allegedly being tortured by Zanzou nightclub’s bouncers seemingly returned with more chilling footage on a new X account on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, the man known as Pablo took to social media to leak footage of five men who were allegedly tied up, assaulted and forced to commit sexual acts on themselves by bouncers at the nightclub in Pretoria in January 2023.

While Zanzou said it has fired the bouncers and would co-operate with police, Pablo went onto TikTok to announce he would be post more videos.

He said about 75 videos of similar incidents would be leaked as he worked for the club’s owner for seven years.

On Thursday, a new X account, @BIGPforpablo, shared videos of men allegedly being beaten and getting undressed.

In one unsettling video, a naked man is seen lying on the floor in a store room with his ankle tied by one man while another hits him with a belt. The man is heard screaming while repeatedly saying “sorry”.

One video shows a topless man wearing jeans lying on his back with his eyes closed with a man’s boot on his face. It is not clear if the man is alive.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe told TimesLIVE  they knew about the X account and the videos.

“Intelligence is trying to trace him and everyone else who is involved. We are actively searching for the culprits,” she said.

Social media users immediately linked the video of the seemingly unconscious man to Kulani Shirinda, who disappeared in August 2023.

His sister, Amukelani Shirinda, told TimesLIVE she was receiving calls and texts from people claiming her missing brother was in the video.

But it was not him, she said.

“What is happening is very disturbing and traumatic for me and my mother. People are insisting it is him but it is not. The missing post has been shared on social media and I want people to stop calling us. We have not found my brother,” she said.

She said Shirinda was last seen in Hillbrow after a night out with four friends. The group was apparently headed to the Maboneng district and Shirinda requested an Uber to take him back to his student accommodation.

However, two minutes before the Uber arrived, Shirinda apparently cancelled the request.

“According to his friends, a white bakkie stopped and he got into it. He was never seen again. When we looked at the footage, we could seet he had been drinking. Police noticed the number plate was not registered to the bakkie but to a Mercedes-Benz. We don’t know where he is.”

She said this was not the first time she had received calls about her brother as the family was often contacted by his supposed kidnappers demanding money.

“We received so many calls after he went missing from scammers wanting money, or claiming they know where he is and want us to pay them.

Another man went onto X on Thursday to say it was him lying unconscious on the floor in the video, not the person doing the beating.

He said he has the same distinctive belt he was seen wearing in the footage. 

The man said he used to be a promoter at Zanzou but did not remember what happened that night.

Requesting the video  be taken down, he said he had a new business and did not want to be associated with the scandal surrounding the club. 

TimesLIVE