Increased police presence blanketed one of South Africa’s most volatile townships on Sunday following a harrowing incident where a “mob” allegedly bound and set fire to seven men accused of a crime spree, as reported by both police and residents.
South Africa grapples with a mounting murder rate, but community leaders highlight Diepsloot, a town north of Johannesburg inhabited by over 350,000 people, as an area marred by high rates of violent crimes like killings and rape, lamenting what they see as abandonment by authorities.
Authorities initiated a murder investigation after the discovery of the charred remains of seven young men. Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo stated that an alert was raised concerning two “burned bodies” late Friday night. Subsequently, five additional bodies were found in another district of Diepsloot during the early hours of Saturday, according to his statement to AFP.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that in both incidents, the victims were assaulted and burned by the mob,” Masondo said.
The bodies of the five men, all aged about 20, were found on a pile of bricks on wasteland in the town.
“They were all chased, caught and tied before being killed, yes it was a ‘necklace’,” said one resident, referring to the use of tyres or rope put over the upper body of victims before they are set alight.
“There are more police today and we hope they will stay because we need them,” the resident added, speaking on condition of anonymity because of tensions in the township. “There have been a lot of robberies and people are angry.”
Masondo said no motive for the killings had been confirmed but commented that police “strongly condemn acts of vigilantism and the community taking the law into their own hands, as that constitutes a serious criminal offense.”
Protests were held over charges made against three community leaders who led demonstrations in the town in June. That followed a series of murders and robberies including the bombing of a petrol station.
South Africa, with a population of about 60 million, averaged 68 murders a day in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of nearly 20 percent on the same period in 2019.
AFP
