SA woman rescued from Croatia after ‘assault’ by landlord now wants justice

When Basetsana Horing left her “toxic and abusive” marriage earlier this year, she had hoped to start afresh in a safer environment for her and her son. 

Instead, she quickly realised she had moved from one bad situation to another when the “safe” place she found turned into a nightmare which left her traumatised and with a sense of injustice.

Horing, 28, made headlines last week when footage of her emotional ordeal emerged on social media.

In the video shared on X, Horing was seen crying uncontrollably while sitting on the floor, saying she had been beaten. She claimed she was attacked by three men, her landlord and his two sons while trying to retrieve her belongings from her flat after being locked out. 

“They beat me like they were beating an animal. That man beat me like he was beating his maid. They stripped me naked; after that, the police came and nobody did anything. Instead, they took my ID,” Horing sobbed.

Horing met and married a Croatian while she worked as a waitress in South Africa. She moved with him to Europe in 2018 but left her marital home to rent an apartment after allegedly experiencing domestic abuse. 

The video caught the attention of department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) spokesperson Clayson Monyela, who reached out to Horing. He was able to get her and her son out of Croatia, and she was taken to a hotel in Hungary and then booked a flight home.

Horing arrived in South Africa on Thursday, where was she was welcomed by her father and younger half sister.

“I'm back home, it's a bittersweet moment [being back],” she told TimesLIVE Premium.

While Horing is originally from Taung, in North West, she's now based in Witbank, Mpumalanga.

She opened up about the events leading up to her ordeal and explained she had decided to leave her “toxic” relationship after years of trying to make it work for her son's sake.

“His father was very abusive, I was in an abusive marriage, and he saw all of that happen. For a very long time, I didn't want to get divorced because I wanted my son to have a mom and dad in the same house.

“I didn't know I was damaging my child, I didn't understand the impact it had on him. But the moment I did, I planned my exit and organised a place for us to live and we moved out in March. I thought we were moving away from a dangerous situation and were going to start afresh and have peace, but we went from bad to worse,” she said .

The trouble started soon after she moved into a new apartment and reported several maintenance issues to the landlord. This is the man seen in her social media post.

The situation soon extended to rent payment — she claimed the landlord took exception to her opting to pay electronically instead of cash as he wanted.

“Now he was getting angry, every month he would complain he wants cash. I didn't understand why ... and also, the rent kept going up. He told me it was the utility bill.

“I then asked him for the invoice and I think that's what got him really angry. He didn't want to give me the invoice but just made up the bill in his mind,” she said.

These issues, including repeated complaints from Horing on the poor state of the apartment resulted in the landlord terminating her lease.

Horing said she had no issue with this, as she was planning to move out and hoped she'd get her deposit back.

Despite giving her a month's notice the man seemingly changed his mind a week into her notice period and tried to evict her after she complained about a broken shower. The situation was resolved by the police but flared up again just days later.

“Two days later, I went to the embassy because I was scared for my life and wanted to ask for help. When I came back, the doors were locked and the locks were changed. Everything in the house was taken out and I was shocked. We had been in a bus from Budapest for seven hours and my son needed to pee but had nowhere to go.

“I went to the police and they said it was his word against mine. I asked them to help us ... because I had every right to be in that apartment, I had paid my rent, but they said they can't do anything as it was a civil matter that needed a lawyer,” she said.

Horing eventually managed to find accommodation for the night at a local hostel, which was all she could afford, and when she returned to the rental the following day, the now-publicised eviction took place.

Even right now, I'm home but what happened [still affects me]. If I had at least got justice, it would be easier for me to move out. I'm very angry, the story is trending but there's no justice.

She added that she received no help from the police or neighbours, who all apparently took the landlord's side. Her estranged husband was also unable to help, as he lived 600km away from them.

Horing claimed he was a gambling addict who offered no financial assistance since she left him. The two are in the process of getting a divorce.

She was, however, eventually allowed to retrieve her possessions, apparently under police escort, but was never refunded money owed to her.

Horing relayed the effect the incident had on her and her son.

“Even right now I'm home, but what happened [still affects me]. If I had at least got justice, it would be easier for me to move out. I'm very angry, the story is trending, but there's no justice,” she said.

"[My son] needs a lot of work [mentally]. It's not going to be an overnight thing because he's still traumatised. Every time we talk loudly, he just covers his ears because he thinks we're fighting, or if someone comes close to me while talking, he grabs me by the hand and holds on thinking this person is going to attack me.”

Horing said she would not return to Croatia, given the treatment and racial abuse both she and her son experienced . 

While the young woman expressed gratitude for the help she received, including the assistance she received in sorting out her son's paperwork, she told TimesLIVE Premium she now wants help getting justice.

“This is no longer about the man who attacked me but about how Croatian [authorities] treated me. What I want right now is to see justice, a lot of people are telling me to move on, but I can't,” she said.

“I'm telling my story for two reasons, obviously to get justice, but also to raise awareness and for people to learn from my mistakes. Before you move to a country, do your research because some places, even in Europe, are not safe. You might say, 'there's no crime here,' but racism is there, you can be unsafe in [countries like] Croatia,” she said.

Horing now plans to focus on rebuilding her life in South Africa and to travel with her son, something they both enjoy.

Monyela said the assistance was “country duty” and he was glad they were safe at home. 

On Sunday Monyela was alerted to another situation involved a South African woman and her cousin who were seemingly scammed by a human trafficking syndicate in Thailand.

“I just spoke to the lady. She is safe. We're getting her a plane ticket to fly back home. She escaped prostitution by lying that she's got an STI. Everything she & her 'cousin' were promised were lies. The case of her cousin has been reported to the police. Our embassy will monitor the progress thereof.

“The traffickers booked one-way tickets for them. The return tickets were fake. They drove 12 hours out of Thailand. Passports were confiscated and they were told they'd work as prostitutes for a minimum of three years. Please warn your family members. Human trafficking is real.”