GEORGE NEWS - It seems Thembalethu residents have declared war against criminals this festive season.
Over the past weekend another man lost his life in one of two incidents of mob justice in the area.
The lethal mob justice attack on Friday 8 December followed after two men entered a shack where a woman lay sleeping in Zone 9, Tsunami Park at 23:00.
According to an eyewitness the men woke the woman and robbed her of her cellphone and money at knife point.
When the suspects fled the scene, they were caught by community members who beat one of the men to death.
The other managed to escape.
In another incident on Sunday 10 December, police rescued a man from community members who assaulted him.
Four people were arrested and they appeared in the Thembalethu Magistrate's Court on Monday 11 December.
They were released on a warning for further investigation.
The latest incidents of mob justice follow the killing of a convicted murderer who had allegedly stabbed a popular football lover, Bayanda Fose, to death at Jam Alley Tavern in Thembalethu.
The man was then attacked by community members, pelted with stones and set alight. He later died in hospital.
Thembalethu residents are sick and tired of crime and therefore many people are taking the law into their hands.
However, Xolani Henge, chairperson of the Thembalethu Community Police Forum, said street justice must be condemned.
"If we continue to promote this type of behaviour, we are just as bad as the criminals.
"Taking the law into our own hands is unacceptable and has serious consequences," said Henge.
He said the police need to act urgently to restore a relationship of trust with the community and people need to be educated about the dangers of meting out punishment.
Acting Thembalethu Police Station Commander, Lieutenant Eric Julies, warned residents that those involved in mob justice will face the full might of the law.
"We plead with people to rather work with us to fight crime and not become criminals themselves. Murder is murder and can never be justified.
"People must refrain from such acts and allow trained police officers to deal with crime," he said.
Man killed for R6
A 26-year-old man was stabbed to death in Zone 7, Thembalethu on Sunday 10 December, during an argument over R6.
According to Captain Malcom Pojie, Southern Cape Police spokesperson, the victim and the suspect were arguing about the money which they had pooled to buy drugs.
"The suspect demanded his money back and in the ensuing fight he stabbed the victim to death," said Pojie.
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