Mob Rule Africa 101: Quick Justice. No Mercy. No Rules!

NATIONAL Police commissioner, General Bheki Cele condemned Wednesday night’s mob killing near Mthatha in which two youths were torched.

Cele, who was addressing a media conference in Mthatha yesterday after a two-day visit to the province, said those who were involved in mob killings would be arrested and face the might of the law.

Cele made the remarks following a mob killing at Mbozwana village where two youths, Sithandile Songwaxa, 25, and Manono Nkwahla, 23, were torched by a mob of about 100 people who accused them of carrying out robberies and rapes in their area.

The mob believed that the two men were among four who had attacked two villages, robbing three homesteads and raping two sisters, aged 12 and 18.

Cele said since Wednesday night 56 people had been arrested for the killings, and of the 56 arrested, 38 appeared at the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges of murder.
They were each granted R500 bail and were all represented by one attorney, Thanduxolo Qina .
Their case was postponed to September 9, for further investigations.

The remaining 18 will appear on Monday at the Bityi Periodical Court. “I have been informed of it (the mob killing) and told that 56 people have been arrested. Indeed this is one area we have to look into, hence we have to work on our responses with communities,” Cele said. He warned that police would act against anyone taking part in mob justice.

Meanwhile, Cele reassured South Africans that the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup would be a safe one despite this week’s media reports of a planned al-Qaeda terrorist attack.

“As South African Police Service (SAPS) we are satisfied that we are on course to provide a safe and successful World Cup,” Cele said.

He said their intelligence team was working around the clock to provide information that might suggest a threat to the security of the country.

“So far we have nothing to worry about ,” Cele said.

Cele, who was accompanied by the country’s top policemen, said their visit to Mthatha had included visits to Ngangelizwe, Mthatha Central and Ngcobo police stations
“The meeting you see here is made up of the deputy commissioners, provincial and divisional commissioners.
“This is a top management meeting of the SAPS.
“We have taken a decision that now we will meet at provinces, the Eastern Cape was the first province,” Cele said.

He said this was an attempt by the national office to be in contact with police stations and have first-hand information on the crime situation in a particular province.

Their next meeting will take place at the end of July in Mpumalanga. — By LUBABALO NGCUKANA
Mthatha Bureau lubabalon@dispatch.co.za

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=404024