Two men killed, five injured in suspected vigilante attack at Nyanga taxi rank

There was heavy police presence in the Nyanga taxi rank area following a suspected vigilante attack which left two men dead and five others injured on Wednesday.

According to IOL, the victims were accused of hijackings in the area.

The tongue of one of the victims was reportedly amputated.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said provincial detectives had opened murder and attempted murder case dockets for investigation.

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The assault led to the death of two of the men, aged 23 and 26.

Five of the victims, between the ages of 15 and 27, who were seriously injured are fighting for their lives in a local hospital.

Circumstances surrounding the incident are the subject of the police investigation currently underway.

Potelwa said the SAPS had reinforced deployments in the Nyanga taxi rank area in a bid to apprehend the suspects and prevent further criminal acts from occurring.

Detectives are following up all leads, including the possibility that the motive is a vigilante attack.

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Mob justice attacks in Limpopo

Late last year, Police Minister Bheki Cele led the Ministerial Crime Prevention Imbizo in the Sekhukhune District in Limpopo to address the spike in mob justice attacks.

This follows after a marked increase in mob attacks in Limpopo, including the two robbers who were stoned to death and their bodies burned in Tshavhalovhedzi village.

In a separate incident, another mob attack claimed the lives of two suspected cellphone thieves who allegedly stole a mobile phone near a mall.

Cele strongly condemned these vigilante mob attacks and urged residents against taking the law into their own hands.

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Even though policing service delivery in the region “can and should be improved”, Cele said the incidents of mob justice could not be condoned or accepted.

“There is simply no justice in the so-called ‘mob justice‘ but it is criminal acts that will be harshly health with”, the police minister said.

Additional reporting by Cheryl Kahla.