adminCape Town — No arrests have been made after a man accused of being a drug dealer was burnt alive in a vigilante attack in Masiphumelele in the early hours of Saturday morning. Community police forum chairperson Kathy Cronje told News24 residents took to the streets on Friday night.
“They went door-to-door in search of drug dealers. One was found [in the early hours of the morning] and he was burnt to death,” she said.
Police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said the man died in Nyeza Street at 0045hrs. “The motive for the murder [has] yet to be established. The circumstances are being investigated,” he said.
Cronje said the group again marched through the streets to another alleged dealer’s house on Saturday, where they damaged his home and “escorted him out of the community”.
Sporadic mob justice incidents started in the township outside Fish Hoek last month.
On the Masiphumelele Facebook page, residents applauded the vigilantism.
While Cronje understood the residents’ frustration with poor policing, “you can’t kill people”, she insisted.
“Give the police the chance to do their job. Instead of fighting a mob, let them look for the drug dealers,” she said.
Community safety MEC Dan Plato last month visited the area where he appealed to residents to not take the law into their own hands. — Sapa
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