This comes at a time when lawlessness in the township has given birth to ruthless renegades who parade themselves as the custodians of society’s morality and justice.
But because of what these local heroes and heroines have done, the police in the crime-ridden township now believe there is hope for cooperation between the police and the community in the fight against crime.
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Relating the story, an ecstatic Zonkizizwe SAPS media spokesperson, Sgt Rufus Tema, described how a rare and unexpected incident has changed local mindsets and attitudes of both the residents and the police in the area towards crime and lawlessness. Meanwhile, in the Zonkizizwe SAPS precinct, the mood is that of pride in the confidence shown to them by these community members.
Tema believes opting to take an attempted murder suspect to the local police station where they handed him over to the police without spilling a drop of his blood was a sign of maturity and respect for the rule of law by the community.
This has happened at a time when in a number of similar crime incidents, often the “suspect” is pronounced guilty as charged. Many are summarily executed by the frenzied mobs who become the judges and jurors without any recourse for the law or legal system.
In many of these unfortunate circumstances, the “guilty” suspect is an innocent passer-by or bystander who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sadly, over the years, many of these innocent people have had to be sacrificial lambs in these mob-justice kangaroo courts.
The Zonkizizwe SAPS has highly commended the handful of community members who took part in this noble act hopes such acts of the responsible citizenry will inspire others to take heed and follow in their footsteps.
Tema reiterated the police guidelines that members of the public must not take the law into their own hands, handing the suspect over to the police is always the right thing to do. He explained mob justice could have serious legal implications for those who take part in it.
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He hoped this righteous act will change people’s perceptions about crime and strengthen relations between the police and the community.
Tema said the community of Zonkizizwe has done the local SAPS proud and this is actually not the first incident where a suspect has been handed over to the police by community members.
According the Tema, the recent incident unfolded on May 23 when a 39-year-old suspect was apprehended by community members and handed over to the Zonkizizwe SAPS on charges of attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Tema said it on August 29, 2018, at around 7pm following a shooting incident in Zone 3. It is alleged a 52-year-old woman was about to close the main gate of her property when two armed men approached her.
One of the suspects drew his firearm and shot the woman several times and ran away.
The injured woman survived and was rushed to hospital.
Immediately after his arrest, the investigating team took the suspect through an intensive probe which led to the discovery of a firearm with the serial number filed off. A charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm was added to the initial attempted murder charge.
The firearm was later handed over for forensic analysis to determine if it was used in the attempted murder or any other crime. The suspect appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court for a formal remand while police awaited the ballistic test results on the firearm.
Kathorus MAIL joins the Zonkizizwe SAPS in commending the members of the local community for a job well done.
