LIMPOPO – A man who was released on parole and had reportedly terrorised the community around Tshirenzheni, Dopeni, Tshikombani and surroundings, met the wrath of angry residents when he was beaten to death and set alight at Tshirenzheni recently.
Kenneth Nematswerani (37) died of his injuries.
Angry residents accused him of being behind a spate of crimes, such as rapes, robberies and housebreakings. The last straw for them was when the accused allegedly raped two girls around the area and the matter was reported to the Siloam Police, according to a source in the community. Nematswerani was released on parole in June last year after he spent 11 years of a 20-year sentence in prison for rape.
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He was re-arrested at Mphephu in August for robbery and released in October because of a lack of evidence. The angry community beat him up and paraded him naked through the village before setting him alight.
In another incident, which happened at Rabali, an 18-year-old man met the same fate.
He was beaten and set alight after being accused of rape. The man, allegedly a Zimbabwean national, had not been identified yet at the time of going to press.
Residents in the area said they had had enough of the criminals who roamed the streets, disturbing the peace of the village, robbing people and attacking them and raping them at will.
“This is a strong message to those who terrorise our community. This is what they will face. We will not fold our hands when our lives are endangered,” several angry residents said.
The Spokesperson for the SAPS in Limpopo, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo, said he was concerned that the community had taken the law into their own hands. “We are always discouraging the community from this practice. If a crime is committed, the community should call the police and let the officers do their jobs. People should take into consideration that taking the law into their own hands is a downright criminal offence,” he said.
