Later that day, the family saw pictures and videos of their bloody and seemingly lifeless bodies on social media.
An Indian homeowner in Phoenix, who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation, said he saw the two men on the street long after the attack. They were still alive.
He stopped two police cars, both of which stopped briefly before spinning off. A third police vehicle stopped, called an ambulance, and waited for it to arrive before leaving, he said.
However, the privately owned ambulance only treated the men briefly before leaving them alive on the side of the road, the local resident said. The next day a hearse came to pick her up. Their bodies were cremated, family members said.
A relative, Thulani Dube, said they didn’t deserve to be killed even if they looted.
At the cousins’ funeral, in a tent in a spacious field with brown grass behind a family house in KwaMashu, loved ones cried and boiled, but also thought of the good times: Mlondi, a 28-year-old father of two, just had his celebrated first wedding anniversary. Delani, 41, a world-traveling dance instructor, was preparing for a trip to Russia.
Still, they struggled to understand what had happened – and what it meant for their country.
“I can’t sleep thinking about what I saw in the morgue,” said Mr. Dube, who identified their bodies. “Sometimes the smell fills my nose.”
