Police: South African man killed by his family for wanting to watch World Cup

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A South African man was beaten to death by his family because he wanted to watch a World Cup match instead of a gospel show on Sunday, police said.

David Makoeya, 61, from the small village of Makweya in the northeastern part of the country, wanted to watch Germany play Australia in the World Cup, but he was refused the remote by his 68-year-old wife, Francina, and two children, 36-year-old son Collin and 23-year-old daughter Lebogang.

‘He said, ‘No, I want to watch soccer,’ ‘ police spokesman Mothemane Malefo said. ‘In that argument, they started assaulting him.’

Malefo said Makoeya was attacked after he stood up to change the channel by hand.

‘It appears they banged his head against the wall,’ Malefo said. ‘They phoned the police only after he was badly injured, but by the time the police arrived the man was already dead.’

All three family members were arrested Sunday night. Lebogang Makoeya was released on $200 bail; the others are still in custody.

‘He was always a happy man, never violent,’ Makoeya’s nieces, Miriam and Anna, told the Daily Sun newspaper.

-- Melissa Rohlin

The Associated Press contributed to this report.