Mob justice has once again reared its ugly head in Vhembe. A man who allegedly terrorised residents of Tshikuwi village met a brutal end on Tuesday (18th) when angry community members caught up with him and severely assaulted him. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after being taken to hospital.
The man had reportedly been on the run for some time. He and his gang were suspected of being behind a spate of robberies, thefts, rapes, and attacks on residents.
When he was found on Tuesday, community members used an assortment of weapons to beat him. Some residents, who opposed this form of justice, called the police and requested their intervention. An ambulance was also dispatched to the scene. The victim, later identified as 24-year-old Samuel Nthangeni, was taken to Siloam Hospital, where he was declared dead.
A community member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said residents were fed up with crime in their area. "This will send a message to anyone thinking of continuing with crime that they are not welcome here. Enough is enough, and we have taken a stand—we will fight fire with fire. We will not sit back while the village is overrun by criminals, especially when the police are not helping the situation," he said.
"Things are not going well in this area because we do not have a good working relationship with the police. This man and his gang were implicated in many crimes, yet he was repeatedly arrested and released, which angered the community. We have vowed to rid our area of crime ourselves," he added.
He said the community had taken matters into their own hands because of a lack of faith in the police, who, in their view, were slow in arresting and prosecuting suspects.
Vhembe police spokesperson W/O Vuledzani Dathi confirmed the incident and warned communities against taking the law into their own hands. "We urge residents to hand criminals over to the police, so they can be tried in a court of law. We have opened a murder case, but no arrests have been made yet. We appeal to community members with any information that could assist in apprehending those responsible to come forward," he said.