Africa-Press – South-Africa. Two men were burnt to death in an alleged mob justice attack in Diepsloot, Gauteng, on Monday.
A murder investigation was launched after two men, aged 21 and 24, were burnt to death after community members claimed they were involved in a house robbery on Sunday.
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According to a Diepsloot community member, who chose to remain anonymous, a group of four allegedly broke into a house at Sol Plaaatjie Extension Seven on Sunday night.
“When the victim attempted to go outside to seek help, one of the suspects threatened him with a gun to silence him,” said the resident.
“The suspects fled the victim’s home with a television.”
According to the resident, the owner of the house was allegedly taken to the hospital after suffering injuries during the break-in.
The resident explained to News24 that the men were well-known in the area.
Another member of the community said:
The enraged community went to look for the men, who were discovered in informal settlements in Diepsloot during the early hours of Monday morning.
“The community only found three of the suspects because one of them escaped after the incident on Sunday,” the resident said. “The community hit the men until one managed to escape after drawing a gun.”
The angry mob then frog-marched the remaining two young men to a field, where they were set alight.
“One of the suspects’ mothers tried to persuade the community to stop, but the enraged community refused because they were tired of the suspects terrorising them in their own community,” said the resident.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said the police received a complaint about two people assaulted at a field in Diepsloot Extension 13.
Masondo said when the police arrived on the scene, they discovered two victims, whose bodies had been burned.
“The two were pronounced dead at the scene. It is suspected that the victims were assaulted by members of the community,” Masondo said.
Masondo said no arrests had been made as investigations were continuing, but he warned people against such heinous vigilantism and people taking the law into their own hands.
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