Photo: Rusa
The community of Canelands, KwaZulu-Natal, took law into their own hands after accusing a Malawian national of armed robberies in the area.
After he allegedly held a farm employee at gunpoint, the man was accosted by community members who stripped him naked and severely assaulted him.
Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) said they were responding to the armed robbery when they were called to the scene on Tuesday morning.
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Security officers were informed that a lone suspect had held up a farm employee with a 9mm pistol, robbing him of a cellphone.
“The victim informed the local community, who spotted the suspect and apprehended him. The suspect was stripped naked and severely assaulted. The community members left prior to the arrival of Reaction Officers,” Rusa said.
“When interviewed, the suspect informed reaction officers that he was from the Salima District in Malawi and had arrived in South Africa in 2021. He had purchased a replica 9mm pistol in Durban Central… and had been robbing victims for three years.”
Three cellphones, a replica firearm and pepper spray were allegedly found in his possession.
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This comes a week after the Eastern Cape High Court sentenced four men to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and murder of four other men they accused of stealing light bulbs.
The men had gone on a two-day vigilante spree around KwaBhaca (formerly Mount Frere), after discovering light bulbs were missing from a house that was under construction.
They kidnapped and assaulted these men with a sjambok and a knife, even chasing them down after some victims escaped, and assaulted a bystander who had filmed the incident.
In May, five people – including two who were children at the time of the crime – were sentenced to direct imprisonment for murder and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm relating to the death of an off-duty police officer.
The family had stoned the constable to death after learning he had had a “heated argument” with his girlfriend, one of the family members.
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