There was drama after a man suspected to be a rapist was allegedly killed by a mob, which held two police officers hostage for several hours when they attempted to save his life.
An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by the man around Dilini, in the Gege precinct on Sunday afternoon, sparking a chain of reactions.
Residents claimed that an irate mob tracked the assailant down and took him to the survivor’s homestead, where he was severely assaulted with an assortment of weapons until he lost consciousness.
At the time the two officers who were acting on information relating to the alleged rape were busy interviewing parents of the survivor inside a house when a voice was heard shouting; “the rapist has been caught.”
As soon as the voice was heard, the two officers went out to investigate.
Sources claimed that this was met with resistance from the mob, which insisted on dealing with the alleged rapist in their own way.
The first officer who tried to intervene was reportedly shoved back by the fuming residents. His colleague tried to reason with the angry mob, however, his pleas were also ignored.
An attempt by the pair to call for backup allegedly received a hostile reaction, which continued for several hours while the alleged rapist, whose clothes had been removed, was lying helplessly in a pool of blood.
Again, on receiving information about the alleged rapist having been brought home, an angry relative of the survivor reportedly picked up a log and proceeded to strike the helpless suspect several times.
It all happened in front of the helpless officers, who were prevented from intervening. This newspaper understands that it all started when a male resident allegedly lured the young girl to a secluded spot where he raped her. The time was around 4pm.
The incident was reported, prompting an intensive search operation.
According to witnesses, the man was spotted by residents. He tried to flee, but was caught by the mob. He was severely assaulted, while a police investigation was ongoing.
An attempt to arrest the suspect was given the cold shoulder by a hostile mob, as it continued thrashing the suspect. “The now deceased supect was infamous for violating women. The people were very angry, they had grown tired of the man,” alleged a resident.
The police were later held hostage by the mob for several hours until one managed to slip away under the pretext that he wanted to answer the call of nature. It was only then that he managed to call for backup.
After receiving information that some colleagues were in danger, a team was dispatched from the Nhlangano Police Station to go and assist. The rescue operation eventually succeeded in the wee hours of yesterday. However, by then the alleged rapist was unresponsive.
He was taken to a nearby health facility where a medical practitioner declared him dead. The incident was confirmed by Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati.
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