A unknown man, suspected to be a thief, was allegedly attacked and beaten to death by members of the community at Mpheni on Tuesday.
The deceased, who had allegedly terrorised residents in his township of Mpheni and the neighbouring villages, was regarded as the mastermind behind crimes in the area. He allegedly stole from a house in the village and angry residents gave chase, caught up with him and beat him with an assortment weapons.
A resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said that residents were angry because there were a number of cases in which they were robbed of their belongings and women were raped in broad daylight. They then "decided to teach the criminals a hard lesson".
After it was established that the man had passed away, jubilant community members were singing songs that they would henceforth sleep with their doors open, while others were singing that he should rest in peace. "We are happy that he was killed; this is one fewer problem for us. We have been under siege by criminals in the area, with many houses broken into and items stolen. If criminals are killed this way, it will send a message to others that it does not pay and perhaps they will refrain from doing crime," said a community member.
He said the community had taken the law into their own hands because they felt the police were not doing their job."Our community is sick and tired of the police arresting criminals and then, within weeks, they are released.''
Police spokesperson Lt Col Ngoatshe Ngoepe said that the deceased had been beaten with different objects and had died when he arrived at Elim hospital. Ngoepe was very critical of the action taken by the livid residents who had participated in the mob justice incident.
"We are always discouraging the community from taking the law into their own hands. If a crime is committed, the community should call the police and let the officers do their jobs. People should take into consideration that taking the law into their own hands is a downright criminal offence.''
The chairperson ofthe men's forum Munna Ndi Nnyi, Mr Badwell Mufunwaini, said that he was worried that impatient community members were now resorting to the killing of people they suspected of being involved in crime. "This is not right. In a democratic country like South Africa, we cannot encourage jungle justice. A suspect should be handed over to the police, who will in turn hand him to the justice department, where he will be sentenced if found guilty. In many instances, innocent people have lost their lives unnecessarily as a result of mob justice," he said.