Alleged diesel thieves get taste of mob justice

Date: 25 July 2016 By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Communities are getting more and more frustrated with crime and incidents of mob justice have now become a weekly occurrence. In the latest incident, two suspects who had allegedly stolen diesel from a fuel station in Nzhelele were beaten and their car set alight. Only the intervention of the police saved their lives.

The incident happened last Thursday at Phadzima in the Nzhelele area. From what could be gathered, alert community members noticed four 25 litre containers filled with diesel which were hidden in the bushes close to a fuel station. It is believed that the fuel was stolen from the nearby garage. The police were informed and the diesel in the containers was replaced with water. The containers were then put back in the bush.

When four men arrived to collect the containers, they were confronted by community members. They ran away, but two of them, apparently heavily intoxicated, could not escape the crowd. The two suspects were severely beaten by the angry mob and they were only saved when the police arrived on the scene. The vehicle in which the suspects were travelling was set alight.

The police arranged for the injured suspects to be taken to Siloam hospital, where they stayed under police guard.

One community member, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the community was tired of crime that happened on a daily basis in the area. “We are hard hit in this area with many break-ins and robberies taking place. Enough is enough,” he said. He said many Indian families had been attacked and robbed at their homes on many occasions. “We just hope that what had happened today will send a strong message to those who might be tempted to commit crimes not to set foot in our area,” he said.

W/O Edward Tharaga of the Siloam police said that the suspects could only be charged if the victim opened a case. He warned members of the community not to take the law into their own hands as that is against the law.

He appealed to community members to hand over any suspect they arrest in order for the law to take its course. No arrests have been made in connection with the public violence and arson.

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Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

More photos... 

The burnt-out remains of the car the suspects were driving in. Photo supplied.