Eighty-one residents of Ezibeleni near Queenstown were to appear in the local magistrate’s court on Friday following an outbreak of vigilante action in which buildings were torched and one person died.
They would face charges of public violence, murder, attempted murder and assault, Queenstown police spokesperson Superintendent Gcinikaya Taleni said.
He said the violence happened on Wednesday after Ezibeleni community members identified a group known as the ”amabhere” that was allegedly committing crime in the area.
A source said members of the community went from door to door on Wednesday night searching for ”amabhere” and assaulting them.
Taleni said three shacks and one house were burned down.
He said eight people were taken to Queenstown’s Frontier hospital, where one died and another was on Friday still in a critical condition. The other six were discharged.
The name of the dead man will be released as soon as his next of kin has been informed.
South African Police Service area commissioner Nikki Mlilwana condemned the community’s actions.
”My office is always open for anything that threatens the safety of the community within my area,” he said. ”I therefore strongly want everybody to respect the law.”
Police will monitor the situation, he said.
Ezibeleni is a settlement a few kilometres south-east of Queenstown that in the apartheid era fell under the Transkei. It was established to serve an industrial area. — Sapa