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The severely injured suspect is taken to hospital.

Jungle justice prevails

 

A suspected cable thief at M'tititi village got more than he bargained for when an angry crowd of residents followed him to nearby bushes, where they stripped him naked and beat him severely.

The man had earlier allegedly stolen electricity cables, Bibles and other goods in the village before being surprised by patrolling members of the community. He managed to outrun them and ended up in neighbouring bushes where he cleaned the cables, making them ready for the market.

He was later located, assaulted and stripped naked and was only saved by the arrival of several community leaders from the village. The man, whose age could not be determined, is believed to be from Nkuri village near Giyani.

Information pieced together at the scene is that two alleged robbers were surprised by the community. One fled and the other one was caught and endured merciless beating by the mob with everything at their disposal.

Asked about the incident, M'tititi Civic Association chairman Phineas Bilankulu said the community had had sleepless nights since the new area was electrified. "The Thulamela municipality has not yet switched on the electricity and some of the cables are already being stolen,” he said.

He said members of the community had decided to stem the crime by patrolling at night and this was the reason why the alleged thieves were surprised while they were cleaning the cables after stealing them from a number of households in the area.

According to Mr Harry Vukeya, whose house had been robbed, when the men fled from his home, he thought they would not be caught. “Young people combed the neighbouring bush and caught them burning the cables," said Vukeya. "After hearing that they had been caught, I prayed to God that no one be killed," he added.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed the incident. He said he was concerned that the community had taken the law into their own hands and, according to him, the police knew the man who escaped.

He said the one arrested by the community had been sent to the Malamulele police station, but he was in a serious condition. "We condemn this act of taking the law into their own hands because South Africa is not a banana republic. We will open a case and those identified will be arrested,” he said.

This is not the first incident where the community of M'tititi has acted in this way. Last year, a resident of Khubvi was given the same medicine by the community as they thought he was behind the incidents of housebreaking in the area. It later emerged that the man was an alleged rhino poacher.

A policeman collects the goods that were found at the scene where the suspected thief was found.

 

Date:05 December 2014

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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