An act of mob justice resulted in the death of five Kanana residents in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni.
They were stoned to death by angry community members on Monday, who accused them of being criminals, and said they had had enough of living in fear.
A community leader whose name is known to The Star, said they decided to go on a door to door search for known criminals in the area in an attempt to teach them a lesson.
The leader said that the community had lost faith in the police as they have been reporting cases but there was never a result.
“We constantly live in fear. One can’t even go to shops in the evening without fearing for our lives. We tried to work with law enforcement, but they always let us down.
“We tell them these people’s names and where they live but they tell us they want evidence, where would one get evidence when they are dead,” asked the frustrated leader.
A family member of one of the victims, said his family was shocked by what had happened, saying their child was not a criminal.
“My nephew did not deserve to die like this, even if he was indeed a criminal he was not supposed to be killed like this. We don’t have any information beyond the fact that he is suspected of being a criminal in the area,” the visibly hurt uncle said.
The man said his nephew was an entrepreneur who sold food and snacks for survival.
Most family members were able to identify their relatives on the scene.
Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the incident, adding that a case of murder with five counts was open for further investigation.
Nevhuhulwi said police attended a complaint of murder at Kanana Ext 4 in Rabie Ridge, where they found five bodies.
“The suspicion is that they were stoned to death by community members. No one has been arrested,” the colonel added.
She encouraged members of the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands as that constituted a criminal offence, urging them to rather work with the police by reporting criminal activities on the Crime Stop Line at 08600 10111 or anonymously give tip-offs on MySapsApp which can be downloaded on any smartphone.
According to reports at least one person is killed a day in mob justice attacks in Gauteng as vigilantism is recorded to be the third-biggest contributor to murder statistics in the province.
The Star
Sipho Jack