2 Alleged Kidnappers Stoned to Death by Limpopo Residents, Police Condemn Acts of Mob Justice

• Two men who allegedly attempted to kidnap a 23-year-old woman were stoned to death and their bodies were burnt
• Police are investigating two counts of murder, malicious damage to property, robbery and attempted kidnapping
• Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe warned residents against committing acts of mob justice

LIMPOPO - Police have opened cases of robbery, attempted kidnapping, two counts of murder and malicious damage to property. This follows a mod justice attack on two men who were allegedly attempting to kidnap a woman on Wednesday, 17 August.

Tshavhalovhedzi residents stoned the men to death and burnt their bodies. The Provincial Head of Corporate Communication and Liaison, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, said three men allegedly robbed the 23-year-old woman of her cellphone and other belongings.

According to TimesLIVE, the suspects attempted to kidnap the woman but left her once she started to scream for help. The residents followed the suspects and managed to apprehend them once they had an accident. The third suspect escaped the residents and was arrested.

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Mojapelo said the community members demanded the suspect’s release. They surrounded the police station and public order policing had to be called to manage the situation. The suspects’ vehicle was also burnt.

Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe warned community members not to take the law into their own hands. IOL reported that Hadebe said those responsible for the deaths would be hunted down and brought to book.

South Africans react to the killings:

Jack Prentice said:

“This is the result of communities losing confidence in South Africa’s criminal justice system.”

Mapule Surprise Dlamini posted:

“People resort to mob justice because they’ve lost hope in the South African justice system, which is understandable and fair if the perpetrators were indeed guilty of the crime committed.”

Sisi Nokhwezi wrote:

“This is a legacy of a failed justice system.”

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Kanye Pamba added:

“When the judicial system fails citizens.”

Armed robber stoned to death, another hospitalised after stealing R50k from stokvel in Limpopo

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported community members took the law into their own hands after 10 armed suspects robbed a group of women who gathered for a stokvel at the Madibong Village on Friday, 8 July. A suspect was allegedly stoned to death by the residents.

Limpopo Police Spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo told IOL that the women were allegedly robbed of about R50 000.

The community members chased another suspect, who ran into the Jane Furse Hospital and held security personnel hostage at gunpoint.

Source: Briefly News