BURGERSFORT – A 19-year-old man who was caught red-handed trying to steal from a neighbour’s house, was brutally beaten by an angry mob who said they were fed up with crime in the Bothashoek area. The mob said they wanted to teach Thabiso Nkuna a lesson that poverty cannot be eradicted by crime.
He had apparently been terrorising the Bothashoek residents for years, but last Tuesday morning his luck ran out. Nkuna, who claimed he stole because of his poverty-stricken family, became the latest statistic in the long list of mob-justice victims.
As in almost every other instance, the rage of residents was triggered by what they saw as the police’s failure to respond to criminal activities.
Steelburger/Lydenburg News was told that the people were furious because the culprit had escaped after several thefts and was seen roaming the streets.
Nkuna was caught in the act last Tuesday at about 01:30 while trying to steal a DVD player and a pair of Adidas sneakers belonging to Faith Meyiwa (18).
The mob stripped him, tied him with a wire, and battered, sjambokked and stoned him until he confessed to previous robberies in the community.
According to residents, he was rescued by policemen and rushed to Dilokong Hospital where his injuries were treated. It was his mother, Johanna Nkuna (38) who had called the police. He was discharged on January 29.
Another resident, Mr Sipho Matshatsha told the newspaper that Nkuna once burgled his house and stole a DVD player, a television and cellphones.
“I went to his mother after the robbery, she denied that the boy was a tsotsi and told me she worked hard to support her children. This is a lesson that crime does not pay,” Matshatsha said.
Steelburger/Lydenburg News visited Thabiso and his mother. He admitted that he was stealing, he said he wanted shoes and money for dagga and booze. He told the paper that he dropped out at school in Grade 7 and he was prepared to change his bad ways.
“I know Faith Meyiwa wears expensive shoes. I wanted them as I am poor. I won’t be opening any case against my attackers. I admit I wronged them,” he said.
His mother also disclosed that community members previously came to her house complaining about her son’s stealing.
Tubatse police spokesman, Const Sello Movundlela confirmed that no case was registered at their station.
“Members of the community are advised to call the police and not take the law into their own hands,” Movundlela said.
