Southern Cape police warned the public against mob justice on Sunday following an incident on Saturday where police were stoned after arresting a man the mob wanted to be handed over to them.
Inspector Antonie Elgin said police were investigating a charge of public violence after being stoned and verbally abused by a large crowd in the Joe Slovo village near Mossel Bay. He said while detectives were on the scene to arrest a 27-year-old man accused of killing his 35-year-old girlfriend, an aggressive crowd armed with large stones and broken bottles wanted the police to hand over the suspect.
Elgin said police called for backup and managed to get the suspect into a van, but not before being pelted with stones. Several policemen sustained minor injuries and many police vehicles were damaged said Elgin.
He said the area commissioner, assistant commissioner Kenneth Mkhize, warned the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands, because they would be faced with tough penalties if they did.
Elgin said the murder suspect allegedly assaulted his girlfriend with a plank on Friday. The man allegedly left the girlfriend on Saturday and when he returned later he found her dead.
The man would appear in the Mossel Bay Magistrate’s Court on Monday. – Sapa