MONDAY, 5.00PM
POLICE at the weekend arrested several alleged vigilante leaders in Northern Province in connection with the murder last week of four people in Sekhukhuneland, provincial safety and security MEC Seth Nthai said on Monday.
The suspects were alleged leaders of a vigilante group known as Mapogo-a-Mathamaga, which had been accused of intimidating businessmen and villagers in Northern Province’s southern districts.
Announcing the arrests at a public meeting at Dzumeri, near Giyani on Monday, Nthai said police would leave no stone unturned in detaining ”all people who have becom law unto themselves”. He said the suspects also face charges of murder, assault and public violence arising from previous criminal activities.
Meanwhile, a police constable and an accomplice will appear in court this week in connection with the theft of 21 R5 rifles from Pietersburg police station earlier this year, said Nthai. Some of the weapons were positively linked to the R4,6-million heist on the N1 route near Louis Trichardt, Northern Province in April.