Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, the provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, has strongly denounced acts of vigilantism in response to the recent killings of people who were thought to be involved in criminal activity.

There were two such unsettling events on November 5 and 6.

Most of these instances of mob justice occurred in the Ehlanzeni District, particularly in the Nkomazi neighborhood. In Hectorspruit, the mob allegedly attacked and brutally stoned an 18-year-old man to death on Monday, November 6 at approximately 15:00.

The previous day, Sunday November 5, two males, ages 21 and 28, were assaulted and then burned alive at Block C near Tonga.

The incident occurred around 17:40, following allegations that they, too, were involved in criminal activity.

Rather than taking the law into their own hands, members of the public are encouraged to collaborate with the police through legitimate channels such as the Community Police Forum (CPF) and Community in Blue.

Manamela further pleaded with communities to refrain from trying to correct a wrong with another wrong.

“Acts of mob justice can never be used to resolve crime, but it will instead create anarchy which undermines the authority of the state. We urge people to work with the authorities in rooting out crime in society by witnessing in court whenever crime is committed, so that this crucial part of evidence can be used by the courts to nail perpetrators in order to get maximum sentences,” the lieutenant general said.