Duduza police have had their hands full dealing with a spate of mob justice incidents in the past week.
Station Commander Louise Droskie said police handled a total of seven mob justice incidents in the township, with five of them taking place in Masechaba and the most recent involving the driver of a Golf who ploughed into a group of people in John Dube.
Droskie said the community made it clear during a meeting at the station on May 15 that Nyaope was a big problem and she agrees.
“Apart from the John Dube mob justice, all other incidents involved Nyaope smokers,” she said.
However, the station commander says she pleads with the community not to take the law into their own hands, but work together with police.
She explained that by taking the law into their own hands, not only do they commit a criminal offence, but tampering with evidence helps criminals to win their cases.
“If the driver from John Dube had survived, it would have been hard to prove his guilt because all the evidence on the scene was
destroyed in the fire,” Droskie said.
She added that since taking up her new position in March, only a handful of residents had provided tip-offs about Nyaope dealers.
“These Nyaope dealers live within the community and people need to assist us by giving information, because going after smokers
only won’t solve the problem,” added Droskie.
The station commander said she understands the people’s frustrations with Nyaope, and hopes residents will use the different options available to send an anonymous tip-off.
“I plead with the community to feel free to email, WhatsApp, SMS or call 082 822 8044 with their tip-offs, as I’m the only
person with access to the phone.”
Other communication methods include the anonymous crime line 32211 or the Presidential Hotline 17737.
