STR/AFP/Getty Images

Happy Sindane is shown at a Pretoria, South Africa, police station in 2003, when he was about 18. He became famous in racially sensitive South Africa after claiming that he was white and had been abducted by a black family. He was found slain on Monday.

JOHANNESBURG -- A man in racially charged South Africa who became famous a decade ago for claiming to be a white slave for a black family has been slain.

Happy Sindane was found dead in a ditch on Monday in the town of Tweefontain, about 80 miles from Johannesburg.

A 58-year-old suspect, Khuwana Simon Mthimunye, was charged with murder and will be kept in custody for an April 11 bail hearing, Col. Leonard Hlathi, a police spokesman for the area, said Tuesday.

Though happy by name, Sindane led a life, probably less than 30 years long, that was plagued by tragedy.

The Star newspaper in South Africa reported an interview with police Capt. Vusi Mahlangu saying that a fight broke out between Sindane and the suspect over a bottle of brandy at a tavern the night before Sindane's body was found.

The fight was broken up and the two left the tavern together. Later, an empty bottle of brandy and a hat belonging to the suspect were found next to Sindane's body, the paper reported. NBC News could not independently confirm the account. Calls to Mahlangu went unanswered.

"The post-mortem reads that Mr. Sindane died of head injuries. A stone was found by officers at the scene that suggests he was hit in the head with it until death," Hlathi said.

"His body was identified by relatives, community members and police. He was a well-known person. He was found about not far, about 300 meters (328 yards) from his home."

Sindane became a household name in South Africa in 2003 when he claimed to police that he was white and was being enslaved by a black community. A court found that Sindane, then thought to be between 16 and 20 years old, was probably the son of Henry Nick, a white man, and a black domestic worker employed by him named Rina Mzayiya. His birth name was found to have been Abbey Mziyaye, and he had been brought up by the Sindane family after being given up by his birth parents.

In 2004, Sindane was run over by a minivan and a car while lying in a road in his village. He also appeared later that year in Pretoria Magistrate's Court for allegedly breaking a taxi's windows with stones. The charges were dropped the following year.

Sindane was awarded a settlement payout by the Dulux paint company after they used an image of him in an advertisement with the slogan "any color you can think of." Sindane said he never gave permission for the company to use his picture.

The Pretoria News quoted Father Charles Kuppelwieser, who often tried to help Sindane, as saying: "He had the opportunity to study to become a carpenter, electrician or get involved with computers, but he did not have the basic skills," adding, "to us, Happy was always well-mannered and a good boy, but when the weekend came he would get drunk."

The newspaper reported that Thomas Kabini, a cousin of Sindane's, said he had seen the deceased in the week before his death. "He was in good spirits and happy," Kabini said, according to the paper.

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JOHANNESBURG — His hands are tied to the rear of a police van while his body lies behind it, on the ground. The van speeds off, dragging the slender man along the pavement as a onlookers shout in dismay and at least one records the scene. He is later found dead in a police cell.

It's a gut-wrenching video, made all the more disturbing by the fact that the men who carried out the abuse were uniformed South African police officers and the van was a marked police vehicle. The Daily Sun, a South African newspaper, posted the footage Thursday, and it was quickly picked up by other South African news outlets and carried on the Internet. It sparked immediate outrage.

Some of those in the crowd who watched the scene unfold in a township east of Johannesburg shouted at the police and warned that it was being videotaped. The police did not seem at all concerned as they tied Mido Macia, a 27-year-old taxi driver from neighboring Mozambique, to the back of a police vehicle, his hands behind his head, his buttocks on the ground. At least three policemen participated in the incident. Macia was found dead in a police cell late Tuesday in the Daveyton township east of Johannesburg.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate, the police watchdog agency, said Thursday that a murder probe is under way and that Macia suffered head and other injuries, including internal bleeding.

'What has this guy done?'
The graphic footage renewed concerns about brutality, corruption and other misconduct by a national police force whose reputation has suffered in recent years amid reports that many officers lack training. Some have been charged with committing the crimes they are supposed to prevent, including rape and murder.

"We are going to film this," several onlookers shouted in Zulu as the police tormented Macia. One bystander can be heard on the videotape shouting in Zulu: "What has this guy done?"

Daily Sun via AFP - Getty Images

South African police officers hold the legs of a taxi driver handcuffed to the back of a police van. Moments later, they dropped his legs and the van accelerated away. He was later found dead.

At first, Macia, dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt, is dragged along the road by the vehicle at slow speed, the footage shows. He awkwardly tries to keep step even though he is almost horizontal above the ground. Then the van stops, two policemen pick up the legs of the taxi driver and drop them to the ground as the van picks up speed and drives off, beyond the view of the camera.

The police watchdog agency said the incident started just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday when the cab driver was allegedly obstructing traffic with his vehicle. Then, Macia allegedly assaulted a constable and took his weapon before he was overpowered, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said in a statement.

Macia was found dead over two hours later by another policeman, according to the watchdog agency.

In a statement, the police force said National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega "strongly condemned" what happened. The statement said people are "urged to remain vigilant and continue to report all acts of crime irrespective of who is involved."

Phiyega has sought to upgrade the reputation of the South African police. Last month, Phiyega told a group of police officials the standing of the force "has been severely but not irreparably tarnished over the past several years."

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Full South Africa coverage from NBC News

QUNU, South Africa - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the "beautiful" smile of her friend and former South African President Nelson Mandela when they met at his country home on Monday during her multi-nation trade and security tour through Africa.

Mandela, in failing health, has only seen a few visitors outside his family in recent years. During his 94th birthday celebration last month, the anti-apartheid leader met Hillary's husband and former President Bill Clinton.

Hillary Clinton was greeted by Mandela's wife Graca Machel at the salmon-colored house set amid rolling hills.

Jacquelyn Martin / AFP - Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right, poses for a photograph Monday with Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel at the former president's home in Qunu, South Africa.

'Madiba's smile is a trademark'
Inside, Mandela, wearing a gray cardigan and sitting in a wingback chair with his legs covered by a throw, smiled for a picture, but he did not speak in the presence of reporters.

"That's a beautiful smile!" Clinton said.

"Madiba's smile is a trademark," Machel said, affectionately referring to Mandela by his Xhosa clan name. "Beautiful women! Madiba -- that's what he loves!"

Mandela's 'Rainbow Nation' determined to succeed

Afterward, Clinton, Machel and the others went into the main dining room for lunch. Mandela remained in the living room with his medical attendants.

Mandela retired from public life
Mandela's single term as president from 1994 to 1999 came during the Clinton presidency, with Mandela and the Clintons meeting often during the period.

Slideshow: Nelson Mandela: A revolutionary's life

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View images of civil rights leader Nelson Mandela, who went from anti-apartheid activist to prisoner to South Africa's first black president.

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Hillary Clinton, then first lady, was one of the leaders of the U.S. delegation for Mandela's inauguration as South Africa's first democratically elected president, calling it a "milestone of the 20th century."

More news about Africa on NBCNews.com

"I was on the verge of tears the whole time," she said just after the event in 1994.

A few months later, the Clintons welcomed Mandela with a state dinner at the White House.

In 1995, Mandela showed Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea his tiny prison cell on Robben Island where he spent most of his 27 years in jail for trying to bring down the white-minority apartheid regime.

Complete international news coverage on NBCNews.com

Mandela's last major public appearance was at the 2010 World Cup soccer final in Johannesburg. He has spent almost all his time since then at his homes in Johannesburg and in the Eastern Cape town of Qunu, near where he was born. 

Reuters, The Associated Press and NBC News staff contributed to this report. 

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Chris Collingridge / AFP - Getty Images

The seven suspects accused of gang raping a 17-year-old Soweto girl appear at the Roodepoort Regional Court, on April 19, 2012. EDITOR'S NOTE: The identity of the suspects has been digitally altered before msnbc.com received the image.

Protesters gathered outside a courthouse in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Thursday where eight suspects appeared in connection with the alleged gang rape of a mentally disabled 17-year-old girl, the BBC reported.

According to the report, protesters held signs that read "let them rot in jail" and "done with rapists."

The assault surfaced when a cellphone video of the attack went viral on the Web. According to local media, the video shows the suspects -- the youngest of whom is 14 -- laughing during the alleged rape of the girl, who is said to have the mental capacity of a 5-year-old. The girl can be heard screaming, "You are forcing me."

"When does it become acceptable amongst a group of peers to rape a girl and laugh about it? It just makes one sick to the stomach," women's league of the governing African National Congress said, according to The Guardian.

Violent attacks are common in South Africa; about 56,000 rapes were reported in the country last year, according to the BBC. Many more victims are said to remain silent.

The girl had been missing for weeks, The Guardian reported, but police were only prompted to act after the video surfaced.

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