One man died and three men escaped when set upon by informal settlement residents in Mfuleni in apparent vigilante action.
One of the residents, who described himself as Andy, said the deceased was with his friends when they apparently tried to rob a hawker commit the crime.
“Four guys tried to rob a Zimbabwean woman who was selling brooms and mops,” he said. “But fortunately the community saw and chased them.
“One of them was caught by the residents while the other three managed to escape.”
Residents have apparently expressed concerns about escalating crime levels in the area, post-Covid, saying they impact the entire community.
Andy said the residents had already made the fire and wanted to set the perpetrator alight.
“There were rumours that the deceased was from Site B,” he said.
Ward 114 councillor Ernest Madikane blamed the new informal areas in the community for the high crime rate.
He said police vehicles are unable to go into most of these areas because there are no roads.
“There are also no lights because the City doesn’t recognise these areas. And many criminals, when they are committing crime, run into these informal settlements.”
Mfuleni Police Station’s W/O November Filander confirmed the incident, saying police were called to the scene and found the body of a man near the river in Mfuleni.
“It is alleged the deceased was assaulted by community members after committing a crime with two of his friends,” he said.
“However, the two managed to escape.”
He said a case of murder was under investigation and no arrests had been made yet.