Mob justice in Kagiso claims life of a man, another severely assaulted

Kagiso Police warned that mob justice would not be tolerated.

This came after numerous incidents of residents taking matters into their own hands and severely assaulting suspects. In one such incident a person died.

“Repeatedly, year after year, Police in Kagiso have condemned some members of the community taking the law into their own hands, but all their efforts have been ignored with absolute defiance,” said Kagiso Police spokesperson Captain Solomon Sibiya.

He went on to say that as much as the police understood the victims’ frustrations, taking someone’s life could not be a solution and would never be tolerated.

“We as police will continue to urge and warn members of the public to refrain from resorting to inhumane, unconstitutional and cruel methods of punishing alleged perpetrators of crime. Anyone who takes the law into their own hands or inflicts gross bodily harm, pain or apply dangerous and jungle tactics which can lead to death and or permanent disability or impairment of a person will be arrested and charged accordingly as a violent perpetrator.”

Sibiya said the Kagiso Police were experiencing a concerning number of incidents where residents took the law into their own hands.

In the latest incident on November 19, a 19-year-old Lesotho man was assaulted by angry residents of Rietvallei.

“The police officers were undermined and despite their strong warnings and orders, residents continued to assault the suspects in their presence.”

He added that on November 1 residents of Swaneville severely assaulted a suspect with various weapons. He sustained head injuries and was later taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Sibiya said the police opened a grievous bodily harm case and launched an investigation, which then led to the arrest of a 43-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man.

“Two days later the victim succumbed to his injuries. The pair have been charged with murder and will appear in the Kagiso Magistrates’ Court on November 24.”

Sibiya said the Kagiso Police station commander, Brigadier Themba Maduna had said that anyone who undermined the laws of this country would face the full might of the law.