Police members felt the brunt of the Makause informal settlement community’s wrath, last Monday, when they were pelted with stones when trying to save a suspect from mob justice.
Pretoria Road, in Primrose, had to be closed for a number of hours due to the unrest in the settlement.
Sgt Styles Maome told the GCN that police received a tip-off at about 8.30am that community members were busy exacting mob justice.
“Upon their arrival they found the community threatening to kill a 37-year-old man as they alleged he was involved in the kidnapping of a 20-day-old child which was reported to the Germiston SAPS, in September,” said Maome.
The child is still missing.
When police members tried to intervene, the community became aggressive and threw stones at them.
“The police officers managed to rescue the man and during the process one officer was slightly injured.
“A vehicle belonging to one of the community leaders, Jomo Ngwenye, was damaged in the altercation,” said Maome.
Ngwenye said the community attacked the man after he called the mother of the missing child and asked her to meet him outside the settlement.
“He told her he could help her find her baby,” said Ngwenye.
“The community leaders followed the mother to near the Primrose Fire Station and the man approached her.
“We asked the man who he is and what he wants and he started to run away.
“He was caught by the leadership and he told us many stories, saying he was in love with the woman and the community started to get angry.”
The man was taken back inside Makause and violence ensued.
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Ngwenye said he attempted to calm the community and summoned the police to the scene and the man was taken into police custody.
“The man was questioned by police regarding the kidnapping of the child,” Maome said.
Ngwenye added that the community cannot take the law into their own hands and the law needs to take its course.
He added that they realised later that the man was not involved in the kidnapping of the child, although police have not confirmed yet whether or not he is connected to the kidnapping,
No one was arrested during the mob justice incident.
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