Vicious cycle: A 2 000-strong vigilante=20 group takes on crime in Northern Province.=20 Tangeni Amupadhi reports
A GROUP of more than 2 000 vigilantes is=20 dispensing its own brand of street justice=20 in Northern Province, prompting authorities=20 to call in the army to shore up official=20 crime-fighting forces.
The group, called Mapogo a Mathamaga – from=20 a Sotho proverb meaning the leopard can=20 change its colours when provoked – has put=20 30 suspected criminals behind bars.
Twelve of its members have been charged=20 with murder, and another 30 are under=20 investigation=20
Leaders of Mapogo a Mathamaga freely admit=20 they routinely beat confessions out of=20 their suspects. At least three have died=20 from injuries received under interrogation.
Provincial government officials conceded=20 this week that poor policing has allowed=20 vigilante groups to mushroom. Another three=20 groups are said to be operating in the=20 province. The officials said the province=20 would call in the military and special=20 police units to provide support for the=20 beleaguered police. They were unable to say=20 when the deployment would take place.
But Mapogo a Mathamaga vowed to continue=20 its campaign, claiming that since it began=20 four months ago crime rates have plummeted=20 – a claim police reluctantly concede may be=20 true.=20
Mapogo – which also has an English name,=20 Business Shield – was formed by businessmen=20 in the central region of the province,=20 after the murder of six local businssmen=20 and a spate of burglaries.=20
The group has grown from 100 members to=20 more than 2 000, operating in the towns of=20 Nebo, Sekhukhune, Tefelkop and Groblersdal.
The group initially arrested suspects and=20 handed them over to the police, but changed=20 tactics after police released a number of=20 the suspects. It started apprehending=20 suspects after dark, taking them by=20 surprise, and beating confessions out of=20 them before handing them over.
“If the suspect hides information and there=20 is strong evidence against him, a bit of=20 sjamboking will be done to dig out the=20 truth,” the group’s chair, Monthle=20 Magolego, told the Mail & Guardian. “When=20 they don’t come out with the truth, they=20 get a walloping.
“We don’t encourage members to overdo the=20 beating. But let me tell you, the criminal=20 arrested by Mapogo – the one who is=20 sjamboked – will never repeat the deeds,=20 he’ll be born-again.”
The events leading to the death of the=20 three “suspects” – the latest earlier this=20 month – were unclear, Magolego said. He=20 said they might have died due to “ill=20 health”.
Charley Nkadimeng, representative of the=20 province’s MEC for Safety and Security,=20 Seth Ntai, expressed concern at the=20 increasing popularity of vigilante justice=20 in the province, saying three other=20 vigilante groups were operating in the=20 province and more were likely to emerge.
“It will be irresponsible of me to deny we=20 do not have an effective police,” Nkadimeng=20 said. “But we condemn vigilante activities,=20 and our ministry is concerned about the=20 reign of terror by this group.”=20
But Mapogo commands widespread community=20 support. Stickers supporting the group=20 adorn business premises and people sport T- shirts bearing its logo, the head of=20 leopard facing a tiger.=20
Residents showered praise on the group this=20 week.=20
Martha Mabuthla, a mother of six, said last=20 Christmas was the most peaceful she had=20 seen in a decade. “This place used to be=20 rough, but since Mapogo was started we are=20 living in peace,” she said. “Even the boys=20 who used to commit crime are campaigning=20 against it now.”
Spaza owner Matsitsane Kumako said Mapogo=20 had helped him arrest the men who had=20 murdered his wife. Two years ago, Maggie=20 Kumako was shot and killed by two gunmen in=20 an armed robbery at the shop. Though the=20 gunmen were identified by witnesses, and=20 they were well known in the community, they=20 remained on the streets.
Impatient and angry, Kumako went after the=20 killers himself, with the backing of a 5=20 000-strong crowd under the banner of=20 Magopo, caught them and handed them over to=20 the police. The two have appeared in court=20 and are still in custody.
Though they publicly express their concern=20 about the vigilantes, local police officers=20 privately support them.=20
Sekhukhune station commander TM Mphati said=20 crime, particularly burglaries and=20 robberies, had plummeted since Mapogo was=20 formed. But he disapproved of the group’s=20 methods.=20
“We support some of their actions, such as=20 the arrests they have made, but their other=20 side is bad,” he said.
The acting commander at the Nebo police=20 station, David Mahlase, said Mapogo members=20 “are cancelling out their good work with=20 the beating and killing of suspects”.
Not surprisingly, those who have been=20 targeted by the vigilantes as suspects=20 condemned their actions. Edward Ramphadi=20 (22) has been in police custody since his=20 arrest by Mapogo last week for allegedly=20 attempting to kill one of its members.
Ramphadi said he was woken up just after=20 midnight by people banging on the door and=20 shouting at him to come outside. “When I=20 got out I saw more than 10 cars with lights=20 on. They told me of previous crimes I=20 committed and then accused me of attempting=20 to kill one of their members.
“The next moment I was being beaten with=20 irons and sticks. They also poured petrol=20 on me and one lit a match saying they would=20 burn me if I don’t admit it.” He confessed.