THE Giyani police have opened an inquest after a 38-year-old man was found dead in Section-E in Giyani last Wednesday morning.
According to some residents of the area, the man was beaten to death by a mob who accused him of breaking into their houses.
The man, who is said to be from Ma-two-rooms settlement, one of the informal settlements in Giyani, was described residents as one of the wanted thugs who terrorised the area by breaking into their houses to steal while they were at work, as well as at night.
“Crime is rife in the area and community members are fed up,” David Magagani, one of the leaders of the Giyani Development Forum (GDF), said. The GDF is an independent structure in Giyani that fights for access to water, more development and prevention of crime.
“Some residents are even arming themselves and go around hunting suspects on their own. An example of this is the recently formed group that beat up alleged K9 members, who used to be troublesome in this area,” Magagani explained.
Giyani police spokesperson Thomas Makhubele disputed the allegations that the death of the man had anything to do with mob justice or crimes that he may have committed, saying nothing had been confirmed with regard to the circumstances leading to his death.
“What we know is that a man was found dead in the street in Section-E. How he died is still under investigation and we cannot conclude how he died before we’re through with our investigations,” he said.
Makhubele said no arrests had been made as yet, and that the police were still busy with the investigation. He further confirmed that the man was a resident of Ma-two-rooms settlement, and said the police were still in the process of tracing his relatives.
