Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to control about 1 000 residents at Diviwe township in Komga who tried to prevent the arrest of a man for assault on Sunday.
A 20-year-old man died during the fray.
Police spokesperson Inspector Stephen Marais said the Komga police had to call for back-up as the mob stoned and attacked them in order to prevent them from leaving with the suspect.
”They demanded he be handed over to them so they could deal with him in their own way,” he said.
After assaulting another man, the crowd chased the culprit and he ran into a nearby house.
”Police had to reverse their vehicle against the door of the house to get the suspect in a van,” said Marais.
Wet, rainy weather then led to the van getting stuck. Police were stoned by the mob every time they tried to move it out, Marais said.
More police arrived and warning shots were fired into the air as the angry throng continued to stone the law enforcers.
Three police officers were slightly injured during the stoning and one was stabbed in the arm.
Police had to use stun grenades and rubber bullets to control the crowd.
”As the crowd moved back, police took the suspect out of the stuck van and transferred him to an awaiting van that took him to the police station. When police attempted to get the stuck van out, they were stoned once more and had to retaliate,” said Marais.
Three people were later arrested for public violence.
The Komga hospital contacted police to say it had received the body of a 20-year-old man who had died at the scene of the public violence.
Although he had sustained a wound to his arm, the cause of death was not clear and would be determined at the police mortuary.
Two police officials were taken to hospital in East London for treatment of hand and facial injuries and then discharged.
The suspects charged with public violence will appear in the Komga Magistrate’s Court soon.
The man who sparked the public outrage has not been charged, as no case has yet been made against him by the man he assaulted. — Sapa