Vigilantes kill suspected rapist
The man was thought to have raped a seven year old boy.
FIVE people have been taken in for questioning in connection with the vigilante-style kidnapping and murder on Tuesday this week of a man who allegedly raped a seven-year-old herd boy in Gcilima, near Southbroom.
“Angry residents of Nontshingo Ward accused the man (24) of taking the boy into the bushes and raping him,” said police spokesman, Captain Gerald Mfeka.
The boy’s family became concerned when he did not return home last Saturday. Police and the community conducted a search and eventually found the boy, who claimed he had been raped.
He was taken to the Gcilima Clinic and later transferred to Port Shepstone Regional Hospital.
Meanwhile, the alleged rapist went into hiding.
When the community found him on Tuesday, they beat and stabbed him to death.
“We appeal to communities not take the law into their own hands. They must work with the police to bring suspects to book so that they can face the law,” said Captain Mfeka.
Gcilima residents have now called on police to set up a satellite police station in the area.
“Crime is rife in our village and we need action now,” said one.
“We are sick and tired of crime. Our children can’t walk in the streets… even by day. It is getting worse and that is why people are taking the law into their own hands,” she said. “A seven-year-old boy’s life is ruined now. How many other children’s lives are going to get ruined?”
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