‘They were… INNOCENT!’ – Witness
A cellphone video footage shows in graphic detail how the men were hauled out of the police van and viciously beaten by residents
Last week Friday is a day which will remain firmly etched in the memory of the learners at Eldorado Park Primary School in Old Eldos.
The young learners witnessed the savage beating of two men believed to have tried kidnapping a young girl.
While details remain sketchy, two recyclers who trawl a number of Extensions in Eldorado Park, and are a familiar sight on our streets, allegedly attempted to abduct the young learner.
The tradition at primary schools is that learners usually wear civvies on a Friday, which makes it virtually impossible to tell which school the pupil attends.
A general assistant and a parent who witnessed the alleged attempted abduction shouted at the men who released the young girl and fled. Attempts to ascertain which school the girl attended failed and residents, with four men in tow, made their way on to the school premises.
They proceeded to accuse the four of being the ones who attempted the earlier kidnapping and the school principal, after confirming that this was not true, and fearing for the men’s safety, contacted the Eldorado Park police to defuse the situation.
The crowd which had gathered at the school, disbanded, but it later emerged that they incited more residents and returned to the school, baying for the four men’s blood.
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Efforts by police to calm the agitated crowd fell on deaf ears, but the school remained locked and no-one, including the media, was allowed to access the school.
An educator at the school, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “They tried jumping over the palisade fencing and threatened to stone and burn our cars if we didn’t release the men into their custody. We were afraid and the learners were clearly traumatised by the escalating turn of events.”
The mob seized the opportunity to pounce on two men who happened to be on the scene, brutally beating, kicking and whipping them with sjamboks.
Cellphone video footage shows in graphic detail how the men were hauled out of the police van and viciously beaten by residents.
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The area almost witnessed scenes similar to last year’s violent protests as people barricaded the street with burning tyres and rocks.
Police, however, managed to avert this and the mob was dispersed once police were able to regain control of a situation which threatened to become volatile.
This regrettable episode has opened up a can of worms amid increasing reports of human trafficking and calls for answers to the question, ‘Is enough being done to ensure our children’s safety at school?’ It has also highlighted the dangers of taking the law into our own hands.
In all, six lives could have been lost as a result of inciting a crowd to act outside the ambit of the law. At the time of going to print, the Eldorado Urban News reporter was unable to reach the Eldorado Park police and the Gauteng Department of Education for comment.
