The Limpopo police commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has denounced the vicious killing of a man in an apparent case of mob justice at Kanana section in Makhushane village under the Namakgale policing precinct.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning when police were informed about a person brought to the headman’s residence by members of the community after suffering severe assault.
Emergency services were summoned to the scene, where they pronounced the assaulted man dead.
Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, spokesperson for the Limpopo police, stated, “Preliminary information indicates that community members mobilized suspecting the deceased, possibly in his late 40s, of involvement in the disappearance of Isaac Ishmael Mbetheni, aged 44, who went missing on March 30. The victim purportedly went to the dumping site in Phalaborwa to scavenge for scrap metal but never returned home. The mob assaulted and escorted the deceased to the dumping site, alleging he was the last person seen with the missing man.”
After failing to locate the missing individual, the community members abandoned the assaulted man at the headman’s residence. Subsequently, he collapsed and succumbed to his injuries. Police have initiated a murder investigation.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Hadebe has mandated an immediate inquiry into the brutal homicide.
In an appeal for information, police urged anyone with leads on the missing man’s whereabouts or the identification of suspects to contact Sergeant Raymond Shipalane at 071 033 6531, Crime Stop at 08600 10111, the nearest police station, or utilize the My SAPS App.
In a separate incident in February, Malose Andries Mogale, a 40-year-old man from Limpopo, faced charges of murdering his brother-in-law and possessing an unlicensed firearm, as he briefly appeared before the Lebowakgomo Magistrate’s Court.