Cape Town - The Nyanga Community Police Forum (CPF) has condemned a vigilante attack in which two men were burnt to death.
The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon at Philippi Station in Browns Farm. It is unclear what the victims were accused of.
The attack occurred three weeks after two men were killed and five injured in Nyanga. They were accused of different crimes, taken from Lower Crossroads, assaulted and dumped near a school.
A 30-second video of the murder was sent to the Cape Argus. It showed the men lying in a ditch, their hands bound. One was wearing a mustard jersey and black trousers, the other was barefoot and wearing black trousers.
Their faces were alight and there was litter on top of them. People could be heard talking, and some were laughing.
CPF secretary Dumisani Qwebe said people needed to learn that taking the law into their own hands was unlawful.
“We are against these acts. It doesn’t matter what the person has done, and the magnitude. It doesn’t make it right. We plead with community members to go to the police station and report the crime. We also need to educate one another on how to make sure perpetrators stay behind bars,” he said.
“Residents need to trust us by working closely with the CPF. We are going to the community where the incident happened and will speak to them and show them the right way of reporting such incidents, instead of taking the law into their own hands.
“We are not going to just leave this. People need to understand what they did was wrong. Killing someone leaves their families traumatised.”
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said: “Nyanga police are investigating two counts of murder following an incident on Tuesday, June 13, at about 4.05pm near the railway station, where two unknown males were set alight.
“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. The motive for the attack has yet to be established and arrests have yet to be made.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111.