Last night a community beat up two men, while the police watched

This journalist witnessed much of what is described here.

Witnesses claimed that two men known as Roby and Loyiso broke into their neighbour’s house through a kitchen window and stole appliances and clothes.

They were caught by a neighbour after allegedly leaving the house with goods.

Dozens of people gathered around them and started to beat them with planks, sjamboks and steel pipes. They threw stones and bricks at them. Children as well as other known gangsters in the community also took part. Some people watched and actively encouraged the beating.

The two men who were beaten up. Photo by Pharie Sefali.

Some time later police came to the scene while the community were still beating the men. Angry people shouting furiously, asking who called the police, saying this was not police business.

A community member, Ayanda, said, “I don’t condone them breaking into houses elsewhere, but how can you rob people that you know and grew up with?”

“Nyanga is known for gangsterism and we are tired of these gangs and it’s about time that we take charge. We do not mind them killing each other but that shouldn’t affect us as a community,” she said.

There were three police cars at the scene and about seven police officers who were armed. I asked one of the officers why they were not intervening. He replied that they are scared of the community.

Another officer told me, “We do not know where to start because we tried to stop them but they threatened us and said it’s about time they take matters into their own hands.”

One officer said that the same gangs kill them for guns or shoot them when they are on duty. He said that at times they do not feel sympathy when the beatings happen.

In the same area, a month ago two policemen were shot dead while on duty. The assailants stole their firearms.

Yolanda Matoti, who lives in the street, said that if the police tried to stop “us” from beating these thugs, the community “will deal with the police because they don’t know how to deal with the gangsters in this area. The police are also victims.”

“We are teaching a lesson to all gang members in the area and we hope that they will learn from witnessing this. We are tired of staying in a community that is run by gangsters,” she said.

One of the men cried. He said he was sorry and will never do it again. Before he even finished his sentence a rock was thrown on his face.

An ambulance came to the scene to rescue the two men but they couldn’t because community members threatened the paramedics and said that the men deserved to die.

It was the person whose home was broken into that stopped the beating. She said she did not want their deaths on her hands. She stopped people from beating the men and started taking one of the beaten-up men back to his house.

At this point the paramedics and police intervened. The two men were put into the ambulance.

A friend of the mother of one of the beaten up men told me that the mother did not want to get involved because she knows what her son is capable of doing, and that the community should deal with him.