Cape Town – The Nyanga Community Safety Forum (CPF) has warned residents against taking the law into their own hands, after two men were killed and five injured in a suspected mob justice incident.
Seven men were assaulted at the Nyanga taxi rank on Wednesday. A 23-year-old and a 26-year-old died and five others, aged from 15 to 27, are fighting for their lives in hospital.
It is alleged that the men had hijacked a vehicle, robbed people, and raped a woman.
The Nyanga CPF warned residents against taking the law into their own hands.
CPF secretary Dumisani Qwebe said: “We as the CPF are against such acts where the residents take the law into their own hands. We should let the proper authorities deal with it. When people have managed to apprehend criminals they should call the police. Now we have a situation on our hands where people have died and some are fighting for their lives. That does not reflect well on the type of community we are,” he said.
Qwebe said the victims had allegedly hijacked a vehicle and used it in robberies as well as raping a woman.
Cape Flats Safety Forum chairperson Abie Isaacs said: “As the forum we are expressing deep concern about the incident. We do understand that people might be losing faith in the authorities but we should not let our anger get the better of us. It is a crime to take the law in your own hands and what happened is deeply concerning. We encourage residents of the Cape Flats to contact the relevant authorities when they catch suspected criminals.”
Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to phone Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or send a message to the SMS Crime Line at 32211.
Cape Times