Vigilantes allegedly beat two men to death

Community members allegedly took the law into their own hands when they accused five men of criminal activities. The vigilantes claimed that the stolen items were in the five suspects houses, but the suspects claimed they bought the stolen items. The Lydenburg SAPS were notified about the incident and upon arrival at the scene, they found two injured men lying on the ground. One of the men died on the scene and the other while receiving treatment at Lydenburg Hospital. The three other men are still in hospital. A resident of Ext 8, who preferred to remain anonymous, was critical of the Lydenburg SAPS’s actions.

“They do nothing and hence people are fed up and say that when they catch a criminal they will take the law into their own hands because they are just tired of it. Residents say that they know the criminals and so when a crime has been committed and residents show the police the criminal‚ they don’t make arrests and these guys keep on robbing and raping people,” he claimed.

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“Communities remain an integral part of crime prevention. In doing so they should refrain from taking the law into their own hands, but should rather work with the police to solve crime cases because this will help to bring perpetrators to book. They should use structures such as community policing forums which link them with the police,” said Vusi Shongwe, Mpumalanga MEC for the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison. Shongwe added that he understood the frustration and pain of being victims of crime. He pleaded with communities to work with the police by providing any information that will help bring criminals to book. Brig Leonard Hlathi, provincial police spokesperson, said the police are investigating the matter, but no arrests have been made.