Assault and torture allegations emerge after young man dies at Richmond rehab facility
NEW information has emerged on the death of 23-year-old Danganya resident in uMgababa on the South Coast, Mduduzi Luthuli, who was allegedly fatally tortured at a drug addiction rehabilitation bootcamp in Richmond in KwaZulu-Natal Midlands last month within two weeks of admission. A former patient of the facility has alleged routine torture and abuse as a form of punishment at the facility.
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The family of an uMgababa man who died under mysterious circumstances at a drug rehabilitation boot camp in Richmond, in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, has made disturbing allegations about what their son allegedly endured before his demise.
Mduduzi Luthuli, 23, from Danganya village in uMgababa on the South Coast died on January 22, 2026, barely two weeks after being admitted to Discipline Boot Camp SA. His family claims he was severely tortured alongside two other patients after they allegedly attempted to escape from the facility.
A relative, Kwenzekile Luthuli, said the family was contacted by a former patient of the boot camp who described extremely harsh and degrading conditions. According to this account, the treatment experienced by patients was far worse than what has been alleged on social media.
“The person told us they are woken up at 4am and forced to do up to 1 000 push-ups each. If you fail, you are beaten,” said Luthuli. “For breakfast they get plain white porridge, lunch is a boiled egg dipped in salt, and supper is two chicken feet.”
She said patients, according to the man, are allegedly forced to bathe in a nearby river using cold water.
Luthuli said many addicts sent to the facility by their families struggle to cope with these conditions. She believes this is why Mduduzi and two others planned to escape while bathing in the river.
“They planned to escape on January 20. The idea was to run to the nearby road and hitchhike,” she said.
However, their plan allegedly failed after another patient overheard them and reported them to staff. On their return, the three were allegedly taken into a room and assaulted.
“They were beaten and even made to carry tractor tyres around their necks. It’s clear their bodies were pushed beyond their limits,” said Luthuli.
She alleged that Mduduzi and the others later began urinating blood. When they reported this to staff, they were accused of lying.
According to the family, the pattern of assault and punishment continued on January 21 and 22. On the latter date, Mduduzi collapsed, with liquid reportedly oozing from his nose and mouth.
“He was rushed to hospital in a bakkie, already motionless. At the hospital it was discovered that he was dead,” said Luthuli.
She further claimed that when staff returned from the hospital without him, they allegedly told other patients+: 'What happened has happened. Mdu is dead. Life goes on'.
Luthuli said the former patient who contacted the family alleged that the boot camp has no medical staff and no personnel with professional medical or rehabilitation training.
“There are no social workers to counsel them either,” she said.
The family has also expressed anger at the facility’s social media posts expressing sadness over Mduduzi’s death, saying the founder has not visited them in person. In earlier reports, the facility’s founder, Lucky Mngadi, had said he planned to visit the family to offer condolences.
“Even the social media threats about taking legal action against people who are asking questions about Mdu’s death are puzzling,” said Luthuli.
“They are behaving like people who know something we don’t, despite claiming he was just exercising.”
A post-mortem report seen by the Isolezwe newspaper, the Sunday Tribune's sister publication, reportedly shows that Mduduzi sustained head injuries and was assaulted.
Mngadi has since said he will no longer comment on the matter and will await the outcome of the police investigation.