Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of four men in Zandspruit near Honeydew, northwest of Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
The four, along with five others who survived the attack, were rounded up, stripped naked, assaulted, doused with petrol and had tyres placed over them before they were set alight.
Gauteng police spokesperson Capt Kay Makhubele said three men were arrested after the incident and are expected to appear in court within the next 48 hours. “It is reported that on Wednesday, at approximately 2am, a group of about 200 people went out to search for boys who were allegedly robbing people in the area of Zandspruit,” said Makhubele.
He said about nine boys were allegedly forcefully taken to a field, where they were assaulted.
EFF branch secretary Gift Mkasi said community patrollers in Zandspruit had caught a man who was alleged to have committed a crime in the area at about 2am. “The patrollers apprehended him and he led them to his accomplices. The community joined the patrollers and took the law into their hands by beating up the guys,” Mkasi said.
He said the situation was calm by mid-morning on Thursday and there were no other threats of violence after the incident. “It was a matter of dealing with those criminals at the time.”
He said the crime rate was high in Zandspruit and the community was fed up.
“Day in and day out there is a criminal act committed in Zandspruit. The crime is high and the community has resorted to taking the law into their own hands because the police are not doing enough to assist.”
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