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A wrecked public phone container at the gate of Siloam Hospital, where burning tyres were used as barricades.

Stop the unrest

 

The Siloam police have sent a stern warning to residents of Tshavhalovhedzi and Siloam not to take the law into their own hands and not to destroy property.

The warning comes after a night of violent protests on Tuesday night, when angry community members burnt a shack, a house and a police van. The protesters also damaged a market stall belonging to residents around Siloam.

According to information at this paper's disposal, the protests started on Monday (11th) after the killing of a local man at the weekend. It is alleged that angry members of the community of Tshavhalovhedzi met on Tuesday at an open field in the village, where it was decided to go and look for those suspected of killing the man.

The suspects are believed to be foreign nationals.

This is believed to be the second murder in the village in less than two months. Only a month ago, a local teacher was ambushed on his way home after a night of drinks with friends.

Siloam police spokesperson W/O Edward Tharaga said it all started at around 18:00 on Tuesday, when they received a report that a man whom the community accused of being one of the suspects was being attacked in the village. "We rushed there and rescued the man from the mob. Just as we thought everything was back to normal, the residents mobilized and gathered at the gate of the police station and also closed the R523 road.”

He added that the mob the damaged stalls at the roadside, locked the gate of the police station, using wire, to make sure that the police could not go out or enter the station. He also indicated that they threw stones at a van containing two police officers and damaged its windscreen. "They also attacked another police officer, who was injured by the stones, before torching his van.”

He said that the police were surprised as they had a good working relationship with the local traditional leaders. "We are appealing to our people not to take the law into their own hands, as it makes them criminals also. They should rather inform us where criminals are or make citizen's arrests, but they must call us without assaulting the suspects."

Shortly before our going to press, Lt-Col Moatshe Ngoepe of the Limpopo police reported that seven men between the ages of 23 and 45 years had been arrested for public violence and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. More arrests were still expected, he added.

The latest victim has been identified as Vhutshilo Ratshisuka, who was murdered on Saturday evening. Tharaga said they had opened a murder case in respect of the incident. He called on members of the community to help the police with information, so that they could crack the case and arrest the killers.

A burnt-out shack at Tshavhalovhedzi, suspected to be the hideout of one of the suspected killers.

One of the burnt properties at Tshavhalovhedzi.

The ashes of a police van that was burnt at the gate of the Siloam police station.

The latest victim has been identified as Vhutshilo Ratshisuka, who was murdered on Saturday evening.

 

Date:18 July 2016

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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