A suspected copper cable thief was killed in an apparent mob justice attack while he was trying to transport suspected stolen cable in a vehicle just outside Giyani in Limpopo.
A SUSPECTED copper cable thief was killed in an apparent mob justice attack just outside Giyani in Limpopo.
According to Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the deceased had been hired by other alleged cable thieves to transport the stolen cable when they came under attack.
The deceased was apparently in the presence of his girlfriend at the time. She was also seriously injured and is currently receiving treatment in hospital.
“Further investigations reveal that the deceased was hired by four males for transportation purposes. He was ordered to wait for them at the soccer field and they would phone him when they were done. He then parked his vehicle at the said soccer field and waited for them, accompanied by his girlfriend,” Ledwaba said.
Ledwaba pleaded with the public not to take the law into their own hands and to let the police do their jobs.
The provincial commissioner of SAPS in Limpopo, Lieuetenant-General Thembi Hadebe, also strongly condemned the incident and reiterated that the community should contact the police if they apprehend criminals and should not take any illegal action.
MOB JUSTICE VIDEO
Last week, in an unrelated but similar matter, a 30-year-old man was arrested after he was caught by bystanders for allegedly robbing a woman of her cellphone in Sea Point, Cape Town.
A video of his apprehension went viral. It showed a mob attacking him.
The footage showed four men surrounding the suspect while the victim, a foreigner, runs to the rescue of the robber.
Two other men kick the crying suspect while a woman’s voice in the background shouts in isiXhosa: “Hit him!”
The alleged cellphone robber, wearing a white top and blue jeans, then gets up. He is bent down and walks backwards to the other side of the road while the victim looks on.
