CAPE TOWN - Police are searching for the bodies of a group of young men who were allegedly killed in an act of mob justice and dumped into a stream in the COVID-19 informal settlement in Driftsands.
According to the community, four young men aged between 15 and 23, were alleged to have stolen from homes in Mfuleni.
A fifth person was apparently saved by a resident from the attack.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said Mfuleni police are probing claims that the bodies of four youths who were victims of mob justice, were thrown into the stream.
“As part of the inquiry, police divers were called out to the area late on Saturday afternoon. Their search led to the retrieval of a body of an unidentified man - not linked to the four missing youths - early on Saturday evening.
“(Yesterday) morning police resumed the search along the banks of the river stream. Due to the rainy weather that caused the water levels to rise, a search inside the river stream by the police divers proved difficult to execute.
“Another body was recovered from the water by police divers on Sunday afternoon,” Potelwa said.
The family members of two youths who went missing on Saturday afternoon, reported them missing at Mfuleni police station, she added.
The sister of one of the victims, 23-year-old Maphelo Mazamisa said she heard her sibling was beaten by the community after being accused of housebreaking.
“He was the first suspect to be caught and he had to point out others. Him and his friends were stoned to death and thrown into a nearby river after stolen items were discovered. All we want is his body so that we can bury him,” Nangamso Mazamisa said.
She added that her brother had turned to crime as he was no longer working.
“We never thought he would do such things and as a result my mother had to go to Eastern Cape because she just could not cope with his behaviour and she feared that people might burn down the house.”
Community Leader Patrick Silwana condemned residents taking the law into their own hands.
“The boys are known for mischievous behaviour. There is nothing the families can do because these kids are being influenced by their peers. Parents have been paying a lot of money for the items stolen by the kids and there was a time where residents marched and threatened to burn the houses where these boys stay.
’’As the leadership we had to intervene and stop them because people who had nothing to do with this were going to be affected. The community at large has a responsibility of preventing crime by forming night patrols and liaising with the residents and police if there is any criminal activity in the area,” said Silwana
Anyone with information on the incident can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 0860010111, or SMS Crime Line on 32211.
Cape Times