POLOKWANE – Through contact from a Juju Valley resident, BONUS recently learnt of a spate of burglaries and cases of theft in the area that have led to incidents of mob justice by the community.
The man, who did not want to be named, explained that the community recently caught a man, attempting to rob a resident by cutting their shack open with a sharp instrument, and “dealt with him instead”.
“The man wanted to steal from the owner of the shack but we as the community caught him. We feel that the police do not respond to us in time when we report cases to them so we dealt with the culprit ourselves. We want to teach these thugs a lesson,” he said.
“We beat him, sat him on a log and interrogated him. We warned him never to repeat his actions again. Only then did the police arrive and arrest him.”
The man went on to explain that this is not the first time the community has taken matters into their own hands out of rebellion towards the police ignoring their cries for help.
Limpopo Police Spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo says as much as breaking into someone’s residence or property is illegal and a crime, the police are concerned about the way the community continues to conduct themselves in the fight against crime. “It has become a norm that whenever the community catches a thug, they fatally wound or injure them. This results in an increase in the crime rate and members of the community arrested for taking the law into their own hands,” Mojapelo said.
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He adds that the community must call the police and refrain from taking the law into their own hands if they encounter a similar incident. He also urged that it’s much safer to apprehend the suspect and keep his arms tied without injuring him so that they don’t escape, until the police arrive at the scene to eventually make the arrest.
“The community is urged to contact the police with any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects and notify them of any suspicious persons or activities, instead of assaulting suspects, contact the police and let justice takes its course,” Mojapelo said.
