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MOB ASSAULTS, KILLS 2 SUSPECTED THIEVES

29/07/2022 09:56:00 Melisa Msweli

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HLUTHI – Mob justice!

Two people died after being attacked by a mob. This was after one of them had broken into a house and tried to rob a man of his money. The incident happened at Lombhiwako, an area around Nsingizini Chiefdom under Hosea Constituency, in the Shiselweni Region. A source privy to the incident informed this publication that, one of the people who died was a known thief in the area. It was reported that a male and female died due to the injuries sustained during the assault. The source said in the early hours of Wednesday, at around 1am, the man, together with five others, went to rob a Ndlovu man, who was sleeping in his house. According to the source, the man gained entry into Ndlovu’s house while the others remained outside. Ndlovu was asleep and the man tried to suffocate him.

Alarm

This publication was informed that Ndlovu raised the alarm and his brother, who was in another room, rushed to investigate what was happening.
The source said when Ndlovu’s brother, who was armed with a bush knife, saw his brother being suffocated, he hacked the intruder and raised the alarm, which attracted the attention of their neighbours. The neighbours are said to have responded and found the two brothers trying to fight the intruder and joined them. A mob of about 150 people, said the source, attacked the intruder and questioned him about the firearms which he allegedly owned. He was further ordered to reveal the names of the people he worked with.

The intruder, added the source, was taken to his house by the mob, where they found groceries and other items suspected to be stolen from some homesteads and shops in the area. The items included packets of sugar, soap and other household goods, as well as kitchen utensils that were missing from the different homesteads. No firearms were found but two men, believed to be in cohorts with the intruder, were found in his house and were believed to be from Jozini in the Republic of South Africa.

“We even found cooked meat of a freshly slaughtered goat,” narrated the source. The mob is said to have taken the intruder, who was still alive then, together with the two South African nationals, back to the Ndlovu homestead where he had broken into a house. Three others from a different area; including a woman, were brought together and assaulted, according to the source. The mob is said to have taken turns in assaulting them and questioning them about their stolen items and the six would mention whether or not they knew the items in question.

According to the source, over five homesteads and three shops had been broken into. One of the South African national was identified by a certain woman he allegedly robbed at gunpoint, who told her that even if she looked at him, she would not be able to identify him. The six alleged robbers, mentioned the source, further pointed out over 10 homesteads where they reportedly stole livestock to smuggle into South Africa. The interrogation is said to have gone on until daylight and by 10am, police had still not arrived and the mob, which had almost doubled, continued to assault the suspect. The police eventually arrived before 11am and took the six alleged robbers to hospital. “They were all soaked in blood. Four of them were critical,” narrated the source. The source said the ringleader, who broke into Ndlovu’s house and tried to suffocate him, died upon arrival at the hospital. The other three were transferred to Hlatikhulu Government Hospital.

A family member confirmed that the female died at Hlatikhulu Government Hospital and the remaining two were in a critical condition. However, unconfirmed reports suggested that three people died in total and the others were still in hospital. “We went to check on them today (yesterday), I can confirm he passed away,” said the family member. It was gathered that the other two were in police custody. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendant Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident. Vilakati, when asked if there were any members of the mob who had been arrested, said no case had been opened by anyone yet.