ADVERTISEMENT:

 
 

Shoppers watched in disbelief after attackers had beaten the alleged criminal before setting him on fire at the Thohoyandou Taxi Rank.

Two men set alight

 

Fed up with the rampant violent crimes in Thohoyandou and the surrounding villages, residents of Vhembe are again resorting to mob justice and taking the law into their own hands.

During a violent weekend, two men who had allegedly robbed residents were attacked with different objects and set alight by the angry residents.

The first incident happened in the town of Thohoyandou where an alleged notorious gangster, who instilled fear to all he came across in and around Thohoyandou and surrounding villages, met the wrath of the community when angry shoppers stoned him before setting him alight. The man died at the scene because of his injuries. The man, who is alleged to be behind a spate of crimes that include rapes, robberies, housebreakings and assaults, met his rapid end on Friday around 18:00.

In a separate incident at Gondeni la Mabilu on Sunday, a man who had allegedly robbed a shop belonging to a foreigner was attacked with an assortment of weapons before being set alight. Fortunately, he was saved from certain death by the timely arrival of the police.

In the Thohoyandou incident, a man known only as "Ndhuna", who is alleged to have acted as he wished at any given time and was notorious for daylight robberies committed in full view of people, was given a taste of his own medicine. The man is said to have terrorised residents of Shayandima where he allegedly committed rapes and other violent crimes.

The residents chased him away and he took refuge at Maniini, where he was staying with a girlfriend. Many people in Thohoyandou and Maniini have harrowing tales to tell about the dead man. On Friday, Ndhuna was allegedly looking for victims in Thohoyandou town when he spotted an old woman and decided to rob her. After he had robbed the woman of her purse and phone, the woman screamed at the top of her voice.

The old woman's screams attracted the attention of shoppers, who came from all sides to rescue her. They chased the man to one of the malls in town, and the man was finally cornered at the Mvusuludzo Taxi Rank. Within a short space of time, angry shoppers who had by then identified the man as the brazen criminal who caused havoc in the town of Thohoyandou, took turns in beating him, using any available weapon they could lay their hands on. As if that was not enough, they put a heap of empty boxes over him and set him alight.

Instead of sympathising with the burning man, bystanders danced and ululated that he was dying at long last. Some in the crowd said they were happy that he had been killed in that way. "The man has been a nuisance and trouble maker in the community. He did not hesitate to rob  and kill people in broad daylight. Trolley pushers were always at his mercy here in town. He would just pitch up and hold them up at will, taking all they had worked for the whole day," bystanders said.

"We want to make this area crime free, where we can live in peace and harmony," said a resident who preferred anonymity.

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Lt Col Mashudu Malelo confirmed the incidents, but condemned the actions of the residents, saying taking the law into their own hands was crime in itself. "We have opened a murder and attempted murder case in connection with the attack on an alleged robber at Godeni and the killing of another man at the Thohoyandou taxi rank. No one has been arrested in connection with the two cases, but we hope to have a breakthrough before long," he said. 

Malelo further indicated that they had found a revolver in a bag allegedly belonging to the man at Gondeni.

A big crowd gathered at the scene where the criminal lay dead after being killed by angry residents.

Agonising death: Ndhuna was burnt alive at the Mvusuludzo Taxi Rank on Friday.

 

Date:02 May 2016

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.

Read: 9551

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

ADVERTISEMENT:

ADVERTISEMENT:

 

Recent Articles

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Popular Articles