Johannesburg - Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi will on Friday visit an Ekurhuleni high school after a suspected gang member was set alight near the school.
The incident reportedly happened on Wednesday at Unity Secondary School in Daveyton.
Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona explained that the incident unfolded after community members disrupted schooling and dragged the suspected gang member to the school to point out a pupil alleged to be part of the gang.
"Upon not finding the learner, the gang member tried to escape but was accosted by the community, in full view of learners," Mabona said.
The suspected gang member was then allegedly set on fire by irate community members.
According to pictures supplied by the Education Department, a tyre is put on the man and then set alight.
The gang is suspected of committing robberies and murders in Daveyton.
Mabona said that the man is currently recovering in hospital after sustaining burn wounds and that the police were investigating the matter.
“We strongly condemn the disruption of schooling and urge the community to remain calm and allow the law to take its cause. Schools are centres of teaching and learning, they should be treated as such,” Lesufi was quoted as saying.
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters, Gauteng Provincial Commissioner of police, Lieutenant General Deliwe de Lange, has established a high-level task team to stabilise the situation in Daveyton.
The team "will work around the clock to ensure the arrests of those responsible for the acts of mob justice of the past two days. This comes after a group of people attacked five men aged of 18 to 21, resulting in the death of one," Peters said.
It was reported that a 21-year-old man was killed after community members went around to the homes of alleged gangsters on Wednesday night.
"Police are appealing to anyone who might have witnessed the incidents, to assist with information towards the arrest of the perpetrators. The situation is calm, as police have heightened visibility. Police will remain in the area until normality is restored," Peters said.