Arrests after mob killings

SIX people were arrested for an alleged mob attack on two men, police said had been accused of housebreaking, in Emsindweni informal settlement, in Khayelitsha.

The two were severely assaulted and set alight and killed on Sunday.

The men were undressed, their feet and hands were tied, and they were interrogated while being assaulted with sticks, pipes, stones and bricks.

Police spokesperson André Traut said the police’s Harare tracing team worked tirelessly to apprehend the six suspects.

They included a 43-yearold woman and five men aged between 24 and 43.

Traut said more suspects had been identified, but managed to evade arrest and were being sought.

The suspects were due to appear at the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court once they were charged.

Provincial police commissioner Khombinkosi Jula condemned the attack, and said the police would not allow people to take the law into their own hands.

He said crime could not be addressed by committing more crimes. Community Policing Forum chairperson in Harare, Khayelitsha, Ronnie Busakwe, lauded the police for their action.

“We have been communicating to residents not to take the law into their own hands,” he said.

“If residents feel someone has committed a crime, it is their right to approach the police so that the suspect may be tried in a court.”

Busakwe said the victims of mob violence were not always guilty.

“The people taking the law into their own hands are criminals themselves,” he said.

He urged the community to tip-off the police so the remaining suspects can be arrested.

Sanco organiser in the Khayelitsha precinct, Lonwabo Mqina, said communities had lost faith in the police, therefore they take the law into their own hands.

He said it was not easy to fix the relationship as most communities did not understand the difference between the police and the justice department.

“The only way we can mend the relationship is through effective policing and getting convictions from the courts,” said Mqina.