A man has opened a criminal case following an alleged racially charged altercation at Strubenvale complex in Springs on Sunday. 

Mpho Mashilo alleged that three men assaulted him after one of them accused him of "staring" at his wife while he was waiting for his order at a pizza restaurant.

The incident was captured on a cellphone camera.

On his Twitter page, Mashilo said one of the men accused him of staring at his spouse while he was waiting for his order at a pizza restaurant. 

"He spoke in English asking if I was done staring at his wife. I responded by saying I don't understand what [he was] talking about, but he kept on asking me the very same question calling me names and using the k***r word and insulting me, I insulted back at him (sic). He then pushed me and I pushed him," Mashilo said.

"He walked in to collect his pizza order with his wife and started talking to me in Afrikaans then I responded [to] him in my African language (IsiZulu)," Mashilo added.

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"The two [others] joined him in beating me very bad and I managed to record a video after the assault and managed to record his car registration and their faces. As Africans, we remain victims of white domination," he continued.

Mashilo also posted pictures of his swollen upper lip and a bloody tissue paper. He asked Twitter users to retweet his post.

"My eye is not okay and even emotionally I am not okay," Mashilo told News24 on Tuesday.

He said that he opened a criminal case about 20 minutes after the incident, but said that he was frustrated that there was no progress.

"I have showed the police the video and they have extracted the car registration number. The perpetrators should be brought to book because I cannot live in fear."

Mashilo said he was a flight attendant and that he was afraid that he would be put on leave while he heals.

Police spokesperson Captain Johannes Ramphora confirmed that a common assault charge had been laid, and that investigations were under way.

"Once investigations conclude, the docket will be taken to the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) for prosecution," he said.