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Residents watch as the body burns next to the Tshakhuma market.

Burnt alive...

 

The fact that communities are becoming more and more frustrated with crime is emphasised by the fact that incidents of mob justice have been the order of the day in several parts of Limpopo.

Not long ago, angry residents from Mbilwi went on the rampage, blockading roads and burning houses of suspected ritual killers. Only last week, incidents of violence have been reported in the Makuya area, where a man accused in a ritual murder case was granted bail. Out of anger, residents went on the rampage, destroying property, and many members of the community ended up being arrested for public violence.

On Thursday, angry residents at Tshakhuma went out looking for a man suspected of being behind a spate of heinous crimes in the village. This man has allegedly been in and out of jail for crimes committed against the community in the Tshakhuma area. He is alleged to have raped students at the nearby Tshisimani College and to have killed and stabbed many people in the village, and every time he was arrested, his family would bail him out. He is said to have been released from prison only a month ago.

He and his friends are believed to have gone on the rampage and to be behind robberies and housebreakings in the village. The last straw was last week when they allegedly robbed a member of the royal family of cash collected on behalf of a bereaved family in the village. This made the community very angry and they allegedly decided "to solve the problem" themselves.

That was when he realised that his life was in danger and he fled the area. Information leaked out on Thursday that he was to flee to Gauteng. Community members confronted the person who was allegedly supposed to take clothing to him at the nearby Khwekhwe village. It is reported that they then forced the person to take them to the house where he was hiding, where they found him.

He was taken back to the Tshakhuma market, where a large crowd was waiting with an assortment of weapons and tyres. He was allegedly attacked and set on fire in full view of the people there.

The scene resembled a horror movie and reminded people of the struggle times when informers were necklaced in the townships.

Residents say they are tired of the acts of criminality in their area. “Enough is enough; we have had enough of crime in this area, mostly at the hands of this boy and his friends. So many people have been killed in this area; students could no longer walk freely to places where they study at night, because of him. Our grannies at the fruit market were no longer operating, out of fear of him. This will send a clear message to would-be criminals that crime does not pay at all. We are relieved now that he is gone, and we believe the area will be peaceful again,” said a community member, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Levubu police spokesperson W/O Solly Mukhola confirmed that the man had been arrested before and was facing charges of rape, murder and attempted murder and housebreakings. He also warned the community against taking the law into their own hands.

"We have a good working relationship with the community of Tshakhuma. They know what to do through their structures. We know of their plight, but they must not take the law into their own hands. We are investigating a murder case and we cannot rule out the possibility of arrests following the killing of the suspect," he said.

An inferno consumes the body of the alleged criminal. Due to its extreme graphic nature Limpopo Mirror edited the photo.

 

Date:03 October 2014

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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