Mob killing next to Univen

Tired of the crime that is taking place in their area, residents of Maungani Zavhavha outside Thohoyandou are now dealing with it their own way.

Criminals who mostly prey on Univen students staying at some of the private residences in the area are now finding it very hard to operate there. Residents in the area say they have had enough of the crimes and they are now taking the law into their own hands.

In March, one criminal was attacked and killed in the area after committing a crime. Another one was lucky to survive after sustaining serious injuries around December 2017.

In the latest incident, residents who spoke in low tones said the man, who is believed to be a worker at one of the local car-wash outlets, had targeted Univen students who came back late from classes and robbed them.

Allegedly, the girls he was robbing last Thursday gave him R50, but he was not satisfied. That was when they told him they had more money at their residence and he made the fatal mistake of following them. According to the information provided, on the way the girls shouted at the top of their voices that they were being robbed. The community came in their numbers and the man was beaten to death by the mob. His body was stuffed under dense reeds at the local river and the girls managed to run away.

A resident who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals said a lot of crime had happened in the area. He said most of those involved in the crimes were not local people but came from far just to destabilise their area.

"We are sick and tired of these hooligans. They do not deserve to stay with people but out there in the wild with animals. The problem is that we will catch them and hand them over to the police, but two days later you will meet them roaming the streets freely after being freed by the courts," he said.

He further indicated that meting out instant justice would help deter would-be robbers from commiting crimes.

Limpopo police spokesperson Col Moatshe Ngoepe confirmed the event. According to him, the body of the unknown man was discovered by an unknown a passer-by, who notified the police.

"Police reacted swiftly and found that an unknown male body, who might be in his late twenties was lying half naked, with deep wounds to the head and the chin,  next to the river. The deceased is unknown and the motive and suspects are not known either, but police investigations will tell," said Ngoepe.

He said they had opened a murder case.

Date:15 September 2018

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.

Read: 4947