Mob justice has become a problem in Atteridgeville West, with the community taking the law into their own hands and calling the police later. Captain Thomas Mufumadi, the Atteridgeville police spokesperson, said that on Saturday the community in Brazzaville called the police after a man was allegedly assaulted by community members.
“The police were called out to the area by the community, who said they had caught a man with a shotgun. They alleged that the man was robbing people in the community,” said Mufumadi. When police arrived at the scene, they found the man covered in blood and lying on the floor. He was arrested by the police for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
“A case of assault with the purpose of inflicting grievous bodily harm was opened and one community member was arrested for assaulting the suspect,” Mufumadi added. He indicated that they appreciated the community wanting to help fight crime, but urged them not to assault the suspected criminals they caught. “We want good judgement to be passed on to the suspects. Community members must not assault suspects, as they in turn open up cases against the community.”
The police are still busy with investigations to find the other community members that were part of the mob justice. In informal settlements, mob justice seems to be a problem, but police are working at fixing the problem.
