MOB ASSAULTS, KILLS WOULD-BE RAPIST

LOBAMBA - A 29-year-old man was on Saturday night assaulted and killed by a mob, after he allegedly attempted to rape a young woman he also robbed of a cellphone.

The incident happened at Mhlangatane around midnight. This incident happened a few days after another gruesome murder of a Form V pupil of Mnjoli High School, who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend. Welile Gule will be buried this coming weekend, after a memorial service slated for Friday and organised by the school. According to a sister to the late Senzo Dlamini, she heard that her brother allegedly instructed a young woman to choose between being raped or to surrender her cellphone. The woman opted to surrender her cellphone. Dlamini was a resident of Mcuba, under Mkhuzweni community.

Spotted

When narrating what she was told about the incident, Dlamini’s sister, Phumlile, said her brother went to another homestead where there was a church service on the night. She shared that after noticing that he had been spotted at the homestead, he took to his heels and was followed by a group of young men, but he managed to outpace them.According to Phumlile, due to the fact that her brother had imbibed alcoholic beverages on the night, he fell asleep in the veld.“I was told that a man, who was passing by, spotted him and he called the victim’s family members who then informed the community members, about the discovery,” said Phumlile. She mentioned that a group of about 11 young men went to the veld where he was spotted and they tied him before assaulting him. She added that it was her brother’s first criminal offence and the family is still shattered and traumatised about it.

“I was told that they continued to assault him using sticks and he succumbed to his injuries. Police arrived in the morning and took his lifeless body to Mkhuzweni Clinic,” Phumlile said.
An eyewitness, Lungelo Dlamini, pointed out that Senzo was wanted by police for a series of criminal offences of armed robberies and housebreaking in communities like Mhlangatane and Mkhuzweni. Lungile also stated that Senzo has allegedly recently escaped from a hospital, where he was receiving treatment after he committed a similar offence and was assaulted by members of the community. 

The eyewitness narrated that on the fateful Saturday night, Senzo broke a window and entered through it after he monitored and saw that some family members at the homestead had left to attend a church service. He said after gaining entry, Senzo found a young woman who was on a call with her brother and allegedly confronted her to either surrender the cellphone or be raped. Lungelo shared that the woman was shocked. The eyewitness stated that the victim’s brother overheard the confrontation and called family members and neighbours, who promptly went to ascertain the situation at his home. He highlighted that they found the woman half-naked as she was fighting Senzo, who was attempting to undress her.  After hearing footsteps, he bolted out of the house through the broken window.

Adding, the eyewitness said a man who was going to attend the church service heard a ringing cellphone in the veld and called community members, who found Senzo asleep. “They tied him to a tree and continued to interrogate him about his criminal activities.”  He said he tried to reason with the angry mob, but they heard none of it. He narrated that some tried to warn the mob that it was wrong to take the law into their own hands, but they should call the police instead to be dealt with by the law. “Police arrived around 6am and took the deceased, but it was discovered that he had died. Police have arrested nine members of the mob and two are still at large,” the eyewitness said. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said nine people have been arrested in connection with the murder.

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