POLOKWANE – Police in Seshego has once again called on residents not to take the law into their own hands after an incident of mob justice in the area recently.
Seshego Police Spokesperson Const. Ernest Maluleke told Review this is one of many similar incidents reported in the last few months.
He said there are several reports of people accusing people of things they are not guilty of out of jealousy, hatred or just wanting to see someone hurt.
“In a recent case, a man was proposing to his girlfriend and she denied him. He then thought that he would take the baby that was on her back and get her to say yes but the woman screamed that the man was trying to kidnap the baby and the community stormed the man and beat him up,” Maluleke said.
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Maluleke confirmed the man was taken to a hospital in Seshego where he remained for a week to recover from his injuries he sustained during the attack. He was released on 12 June, when he appeared in court. He was let go on a warning from the judge not to resort to such actions the next time he proposes. The case against him was withdrawn.
Maluleke said the police strongly condemns mob justice and the resulting issues of such incidents. “We as the police are here to assist people when they get into trouble. For that reason we have been trained to investigate a matter and only after this has been done can a person be found guilty by a court of law. A person can never be found guilty by a group of people taking the law into their own hands,” Maluleke said.
He said in this case, the man did not commit a crime but was falsely accused and almost died. “This kind of thing happens daily and needs to stop. People who beat people up for believing something that someone says can lead to them being taken in for assault and even murder as they are committing a crime themselves.”
He said it came to light that some of the reasons people would point the finger to a person included competition in a certain area or getting back at someone. He urged residents not to get involved in these matters and to call the police when there is an issue as they know how to deal with the situation.
