On Sunday, a mother from Thabong in the Free State reported an attack on her 27-year-old son, Bongani Phama. He had been accused of stealing from one of the men who lived in the same street as him. Following the accusations, the apparent victim of the theft and three other men allegedly murdered Bongani in a vigilante attack. Tying the 27-year-old to a pole and beating him to death with sticks and a spade.
Police Response
Thabong Police arrested three suspects in their early forties. Then, shortly after the arrests, the fourth suspect, aged 24, handed himself in.
Police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng has said that the four men will soon be appearing in court with charges of murder. The police department will be dealing with acts of vigilantism harshly. As the public cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands. The South African Police will not tolerate vigilante murder.
“The four suspects arrested are now facing the full might of the law, and we are going to ensure that we have a watertight case, as such criminality cannot be accepted”
Free State police commissioner Lieutenant-General BB Motswenyane.
Vigilantism in South Africa
With little trust in the government and its police service, many people have taken the law into their own hands, and while others may not take part, a fair number still endorse it. A short three months into 2022, South Africa has already had multiple cases of vigilantism.
Just this past weekend, a 59-year-old man died after residents of Ndindani village in Limpopo allegedly assaulted him. The man had apparently just stabbed an elderly man to death when the crowd descended on him.
Then in February, a group of residents from Khubvi village in Limpopo beat an accused thief to death. They apparently filmed his torture and beating, before dumping his body in the river.
While in another case, police arrested a group of nine people, aged 21 to 39, for beating an accused thief to death. The same week, also in the Free State, a mob beat a man to death after accusing him of stealing livestock.
These are just some of the instances of vigilantism this year alone. As a result, the South African Police are making arrests and dealing with perpetrators using the full force of the law.