GEORGE NEWS - Six people were murdered in Thembalethu in December 2017 and four more in the first week of January.
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Julies, former acting station commander, says four of the victims died as a result of mob justice, which prevailed during the festive season causing grave concern about residents continuing to take the law into their own hands.
December
On 3 December, two men died at Jam Alley Tavern when a man stabbed to death a well-known Thembalethu football icon, and was apprehended shortly after by community members who pelted him with stones and beer bottles and set him alight. The man died on his way to the hospital. Earlier in the day, a sleeping man was stabbed to death in Ntaka Street.
In another incident, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old girl in Thembalethu. On 8 December an unknown man was killed in the umpteenth mob justice attack. According to the police, the body of the deceased was found in Tsunami Park. A 26-year-old man was stabbed to death on 10 December during an argument over R6.
January
2018 was no exception, as the year started with a murder on Monday 1 January in Zone 5, where the body of an unidentified man was found in the early hours of Monday in someone's yard. According to the police the body had stab wounds. No one has been arrested.
On Thursday
4 January, three men were apprehended and beaten by community members after they allegedly broke into a house. The men were taken to hospital where two of them died. The police are still investigating and no one has been arrested.
A 23-year-old man was stabbed to death on Sunday 7 January after he was involved in an argument over a cellphone. A 23-year-old was arrested in connection with his murder.
Julies says the murders are an indication of the intolerance within the community. "We need to address this issue as soon as possible and we will engage with stakeholders to address this. We are again pleading with the community to please come forward with evidence so that we can arrest perpetrators. We also beg the community to refrain from taking the law into their own hands," said Julies.
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