Suspected thief dies in Mochudi mob attack

Hardly a month after a young man was brutally attacked and fatally beaten by an angry mob in Molepolole, another alleged ‘thief’ was assaulted to death by another angry mob in Mochudi.

The incident occurred in Diphonsi ward in Mochudi on Friday night. Police confirmed investigations into the murder case when reached for comment. Mochudi Police Station commander, Superintendent Joel Masilo said the deceased, in his early 30s, was beaten after he was suspected to have been involved in criminal activity.

“We received the report of the matter from the owner of the house who revealed to have been woken up by a loud noise from members of the community assaulting the deceased with some screaming ‘you are a thief!’ He said he was shocked when getting out of the house to notice that one of his house windows was destroyed. When narrating the story, the victim said he walked towards where the noise was coming from metres away from his house where he found a group of people beating the deceased and reported the matter to the police,” he said.

Masilo said police rushed to the scene and transported him to Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital where he was certified dead on arrival by doctors. He added that investigations to establish the identity of the deceased and his age are ongoing because he did not have any documentation in his possession.

No arrests have been made in connection to the matter. However, investigations are ongoing to identify the culprits who allegedly walked away as the owner of the house was approaching.

“I am pleading with anyone who could have witnessed the incident to alert the police. Beating a suspected thief is against the law, I am warning members of the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands,” Masilo said.