The burnt bodies of five alleged skelms accused of breaking into a house have been discovered near Blikkiesdorp.
The horrific find has seen residents in the area remain toebek about what could’ve led to the attack on Monday, while cops have confirmed they are investigating a mob justice incident.
SAPS spokesperson Andrè Traut says Delft police were called out at 6.50pm to the corners of Symphony Way and Main Road in Delft, where the burnt bodies of four men were discovered.
“It is alleged that the victims aged between 25 and 36 were accused by the community of breaking into a house in the area and stealing a cellular telephone,” he explains.
“They were caught, beaten and set alight. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation and arrests are yet to be made.
“Vigilantism is condemned in the strongest possible terms, and those who take the law into their own hands will be pursued and prosecuted as criminals.”
Tuesday, cops were called again to the scene where a fifth body was found.
Traut confirms the corpse is also linked to the mob justice incident.
Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen says the incident is “deeply worrying” and should be condemned.
“Community members are turning themselves [into] criminals by taking the law into their hands and ultimately becoming murderers.
“They should thus answer to the criminal justice system and be held accountable for their actions,” he adds.
Allen explains that between July and September 2022, 71 murder cases, seven attempted murder cases and 64 assault GBH cases were recorded in the Western Cape.
“This speaks directly to the lack of trust communities have in the criminal justice system.
“However, mob justice leaves much to be desired in terms of communities’ safety, peace and well-being.”
But, Pastor Charles George of the CPF claims slapgat cops are to blame.
“As the CPF we condemn these actions but the community is in a Catch-22 situation.
“People are resorting to mob justice because someone breaks into your house and the police come two days later. So at that moment it’s a matter of do I protect my family, or do I wait for the police?
“People have become fed up and last week, a woman went to report that her home was broken into while she was at work and the police told her to bring them the suspect.”