Don’t take the law into your own hands, says commissioner

The provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Lt Gen Mondli Zuma, has warned members of the community against taking the law into their own hands.

This comes after a man was burned to death in an apparent act of vigilantism on Saturday August 10 at Alexandria Trust in Marite near Hazyview.

The incident is suspected to be retaliation by the community after the murder of a 13-year-old boy, whose body parts were allegedly found hidden in a fridge at the man’s house.

It was reported that on Friday August 9 the boy went missing. When the community conducted a search, they discovered his body, some body parts missing, in an open field near a dam in the trust. Two boys allegedly informed the community that they had spotted the boy walking with the man, well-known in the area. Community members then apparently hunted the man down, brutally assaulted him and set him alight.

He died on the scene.

Police were alerted about the incident and upon arrival at the scene, they were attacked by the angry mob as they tried to quell the situation.

Zuma urged people to report criminal acts to the police and let the law take its course instead of taking the law into their own hands. “Vigilantism will not be tolerated nor accepted as a way of dealing with crime,” he said. “Anyone found to have participated in such acts, will be arrested and face the full might of the law.”

Anyone with information that may assist police in the investigation into this incident, as well as tracing of the person(s) responsible for the callous act, is urged to contact Col Dudu Shabangu on 082-469-2569.