Mpumalanga police launch manhunt after man killed in vigilante attack

Mpumalanga police officers have launched a murder investigation following a brutal act of vigilantism that left a young man dead over the weekend in Vosman.

The victim has been identified by his family as Vusimuzi Radebe, who was killed on Saturday, September 19.

According to police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo, South African Police Service (SAPS) officers responded swiftly to reports of a mob justice incident in Vosman. 

“Upon arrival at the scene, members found a man lying on the ground with visible injuries, having allegedly been assaulted by a group of community members,” said Masondo.

He said Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were summoned, but Radebe was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Apaphia Modise, strongly condemned the act of mob violence, promising that all available police resources have been mobilized to track down the perpetrators.

“We will deal decisively with this act of vigilantism. Taking the law into your own hands is a serious criminal offence and will never be tolerated,” Lieutenant General Modise said.

“I have ordered that every resource be mobilised to hunt down those responsible for this senseless killing.”

Wrongfully linked to Kempton Park murders

Police indicated that the motive behind the was under investigation, however, Radebe’s family claimed that his death followed an agonising interaction regarding his ties to Kempton Park.

They said Radebe was walking from his grandmother’s home in Kwaguqa towards Lynville when he was confronted and interrogated about where he lived.

Upon learning that he used to live in Kempton Park, his family said that community members formed wild assumptions linking Radebe to the horrific serial killings simply because of his former address.

“Because of the recent violence in Kempton Park, assumptions were made about him,” his family said in a statement. “Instead of establishing the truth, Vusi was brutally beaten and murdered – he died on the scene.’

IOL NEWS