No fewer than seven men accused of a crime wave in one of South Africa’s most violent towns were burned to death by an irate “mob,” police reports Sunday.
South Africa has a constantly rising murder rate, but community leaders believe authorities have abandoned Diepsloot, a town of more than 350,000 people north of Johannesburg with high rates of homicide and rape.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo told reporters that an alert had been issued regarding two “burned bodies” late Friday night.
Five other victims were discovered in the early hours of Saturday in a nearby Diepsloot area, he said.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that in both incidents, the victims were assaulted and burned by the mob,” Masondo said.
“They were all chased, caught, and tied before being killed; yes, it was a ‘necklace’,” said one resident, referring to the use of tires or rope put over the upper bodies of victims before they are set alight.
“There are more police today, and we hope they will stay because we need them,” the resident added, speaking on condition of anonymity because of tensions in the township. “There have been a lot of robberies, and people are angry.”
Masondo stated that no motive for the killings had been established, but police “strongly condemn acts of vigilantism and the community taking the law into their own hands, as this constitutes a serious criminal offense.”
Protests were conducted in response to charges brought against three community leaders who spearheaded protests in the town in June.
