Community members from Themba Khoza informal settlement in Midrand allegedly injured two men from Ivory Park during a mob justice incident on 12 April after they had been accused of a house robbery which took place on 9 April.
Ivory Park Police Station communications officer, Captain Bernard Matimulane said the pair were lucky to be alive after they were rescued from a mob. “The two suspects, aged 25 and 27, were apparently pointed out by a child of the victim of house robbery as the ones responsible for the robbery of three cellphones during which the victim was hit on the forehead with an unknown weapon and was transported to Tembisa Hospital,” said Matimulane.
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The police received an anonymous alert about the mob justice and were able to rush to the scene and disperse a crowd that had gathered around the men. The suspects are in Tembisa Hospital under police guard after sustaining injuries from a beating by the mob.
The acting station commander of Ivory Park Police Station, Colonel Baba Mpotoane, was not pleased by the fact that instead of reporting the two men to the police and allowing the law to take its course, community members opted to ensure their own justice.
“The police will not, under any circumstances, allow anyone to take the law into their own hands as this will breed anarchy,” said Mpotoane. He further called upon the community to join in and be part of the local policing structures to fully understand lawful ways they can assist in crime-fighting initiatives.
Detail: Ivory Park Police Station 011 990 9618.
Edited by Stacey Woensdregt
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