Man in hospital after mob attack

Police confirmed the 30-year-old man was shot and beaten during the attack on Saturday, South Coast Herald reported.

“A man from Mgwaba ward was approached by two men armed with knives,” said police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Zandra Wiid.

“The armed men robbed him of his money, cellphone and takkies and told him to run away.”

The man reported the matter to residents of his community, who then started a search for the two men.

“Two men who fitted the description given by the man were found in the company of others at a nearby tavern. They fled when they noticed the group of people approaching them. One of them was caught,” said Wiid.

“Shots were fired, and the police were called.”

The alleged thief was wounded in the leg and sustained bruises to his head. A firearm was handed over to the police.

Investigations are ongoing.

This after Gauteng police appealed to community members to refrain from taking the law into their own hands, which was in response to a mob justice incident in the Thembelihle informal settlement, Lenasia, in the south of Johannesburg.

Police had opened an inquest docket after a suspect was assaulted, then later died in hospital in January.

Community members in the informal settlement had allegedly assaulted the man after a six-year-old girl was raped in December.

After a manhunt, a suspect was found and was positively identified as the man who was last seen with the child minutes before she was raped.

The community was believed to have assaulted the alleged rapist, beating and stoning him.

Netshivhodza said the suspect was rescued by the police and taken to Leratong Hospital, where he died.

– Caxton News Service