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Security company Reaction Unit South Africa’s vehicles seen were the bodies were found.
Residents of Inanda township north of Durban are demanding the release of twelve suspects arrested in connection with the murders of five people in the area.
The residents protested outside the local police station on Friday.
The bodies of five men were discovered in a local sports field yesterday morning.
The deceased had reportedly been hacked to death in Bhambayi.
The residents explain why they want the suspects to be released: “All we want is for the police to release those they have arrested. We started addressing our concerns to police since last year, they have not done enough to fight crime in this area. We are surprised that when the community is fighting back, police protect criminals. The five people who were hacked are well-known criminals. They were committing all sorts of heinous crimes including raping and murder.”
Mbambayi Murders | 12 suspects arrested
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda confirmed the arrest of 12 people.
“The team that has been put together quickly managed to find people who could be behind the murders. They have been arrested in connection with those murders and they are detained. But for now, we are still out there looking for more, if there are more that could be involved. We believe that it was a group of people who went to those houses, kidnapped the victims and killed them.”
Deputy chairperson of the Inanda Community Policing Forum, Mbongeni Phewa, says the killings send a strong message that the community is tired of crime, abuse and the continuous killing of innocent people in the township by criminals.
“What I can say is that these criminals were chopped by the community, which was very angry because of what they are doing in the community. And that is why the community decided to go to them. It is critical, bad and sad and we are not appreciating it but we are just calling all the stakeholders who might come up with the solution. This tendency must come to an end and I can tell you that the community of Inanda is not happy in the area.”
Secretary of the eThekwini Neighbourhood Watch, Njabulo Mgeyane, shares Phewa’s sentiments, “It is a sign of the community that is tired of being terrorised and they have decided because of the slow response from law enforcement agencies, they have had enough and it is saddening that this community has resorted to take the law into their own hands to resolve their problems.”
The suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday.
