Durban - Fed up with crime and police inaction, frustrated communities across the country are taking the law into their own hands, with a worrying spike in acts of vigilantism.
In one of the latest incidents, Lenasia residents killed three “trained marksmen” and assaulted a fourth after they shot dead popular local crime fighter Shabir Manjoor on his 62nd birthday on Friday.
In Verulam last week a man was severely assaulted with a hammer after members of the public caught him stealing mangoes.
Also this month, traders, shopkeepers and passers-by meted out people’s justice’ to a man after he and an accomplice tried to hijack an 80-year-old motorist in Monty Naicker Road (Pine Street) in the Durban CBD.
The CCTV footage went viral on social media.
While one of the men managed to escape, the other would-be hijacker was stomped on and hit with what appeared to be sjamboks, sticks and belts.
In the Lenasia case, Manjoor was responding to a house robbery when he was killed and locals, who were “highly emotional”, chased after the suspects, shooting three of them dead.
It did not help, said Manjoor’s distraught cousin, Robert Manjoo, that Shabir’s body had lain where it had fallen for about eight hours while authorities seemed more interested in removing the bodies of the robbers.
“Shabir’s body was only removed at around 8pm. The shooting happened at about 12.30pm.
“They knew he was Muslim and that as per Islamic custom we had to bury him within 12 hours,” he told POST.
“What does this say to the family and the community, that the perpetrators' lives are more important? These issues invoke hatred for the police.”
Robert’s brother Hanif said that while he did not endorse vigilantism, “in the townships, they deal swiftly and mercilessly with criminals”.
“Unfortunately, that is the type of reaction you get from the public when the police drag their heels in acting against criminals and the justice system that often releases them.”
Shabir Manjoor, who was proficient in martial arts and a street patroller, was returning home from Friday prayers at a mosque in the suburb of Rainbow Valley when he heard a gunshot near his home in Lark Street, in Lenasia Extension 1.
He put on his bulletproof vest and headed towards the direction of the gunshot. However, after exiting his vehicle, the father of three, who was going to celebrate his birthday over lunch with his family, was shot in the head.
Robbers had broken into a neighbour’s house, where they tied up the domestic worker and gardener, and while attempting to flee, they shot the homeowner in the arm before firing at Manjoor.
The neighbourhood watch members responded and a shoot-out ensued.
Three of the suspects were shot dead, while the fourth was apprehended attempting to drive off in a blue BMW.
He was assaulted and later taken to hospital under police guard.
Robert Manjoo said his cousin was a popular person who had dedicated his life to combating crime.
“When he was killed, you can understand how some people may have felt at the time. They must have thought, ‘let’s get the perpetrator’. Their intention, I believe, was not to take the law into their own hands. It was just their emotions running high.”
He said of the robbers: “These guys were about 20m to 30m away from Shabir when they shot him in the head. They were professionals. They were trained marksmen.”
He added that crime in Lenasia was a big problem and that many in the community had lost faith in the police.
“The police react too slowly. Lenasia has been a crime hot spot for years. Thats why Shabir and others became part of the Community Policing Forum and the Rainbow Neighbourhood Watch.”
Hanif said his cousin had his bulletproof vest on, so the robbers shot him in the forehead and below the belt.
“This indicates that the perpetrators were from the military and marksmen, not amateurs. They knew exactly where to shoot.”
The homeowner who was shot in the arm has been discharged from hospital.
Gauteng SAPS spokesman Captain Mavela Masondo said police “condemned and discouraged mob justice” and the community should refrain from taking the law into their own hands since that constituted criminality: “Mob justice is a criminal offence and cannot be justified”.
On allegations that the police were not doing enough to curb crime in Lenasia, Masondo said: Police have deployed vehicles (by) sectors to speed up response time. Criminal incidents are treated with urgency, especially when the crime is in progress.â?ù
Masondo said police recovered three firearms at the scene that are believed to have belonged to the suspects.
Police are investigating a case of murder, attempted murder, attempted house robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The head of the centre for risk analysis at the South African Institute of Race Relations, Kerwin Lebone, said research had found that people resorted to vigilantism because they had lost faith in the police.
“We recommend communities work closely with their community policing forums to bring down crime because it is unlawful to take matters into their hands.”
Lebone said there had been an increase in vigilantism since 2013.
Crime activist Yusuf Abramjee said: “Jungle justice must be condemned in the strongest terms. We must work within the framework of the law.”
The chairman of the Lenasia Community Policing Forum, Ebrahim Asvat, said: “The country is in a state of crime and people are tired of living behind barricaded walls and big bars. People are expecting more from government and the police.”
Mahomed Azhar Bulbulia of Lenasia Active Citizenry said: “People don't have the right to take the law into their own hands. If you decide to do it and it's not self-defence, then you are a criminal like them.”
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