Fed-up by the ever escalating crime, angry residents of Thohoyandou and the surrounding villages are now resorting to instant justice where suspected criminals are killed or, if they are lucky, they are badly beaten and escape with their lives.

The rule of law seems to have lost momentum as communities feel betrayed by handing over criminals to police and seeing them roaming the streets the following day. In recent times, mob killings have been reported at Mbilwi, Makhuvha and Hatshifura. As if that were not enough, Thohoyandou and Tshisahulu this week experienced incidents of revenge attacks on alleged criminals.

In the first instance, a notorious thug who is alleged to have instilled fear wherever he went and has been fingered as being behind a spate of criminal activities at Tshisahulu and Itsani was beaten up and hacked and left for dead at Tshisahulu. The man from Itsani is said to have given revellers at drinking holes around Itsani and Tshisahulu a tough time, robbing them at will.

Before he was attacked by unknown assailants in the late hours of last Thursday evening, he is said to have robbed an Indian shopkeeper in Tshisahulu and shot a member of the community.

A group of unknown revenge seekers are alleged to have gone hunting for him in the village and finally caught up with him at one of the taverns at Tshisahulu. They are alleged to have hacked him with pangas and hit him with bricks and left him for dead and bleeding heavily on the road.

He was taken to hospital in a very serious condition.

In a second incident in Thohoyandou, another man who allegedly prowls on victims in broad daylight, picked the wrong target on Monday when he was beaten and faked death for the mob to leave him. The man, who is feared by all in Thohoyandou, got more than he bargained for when early morning shoppers taught him a lesson he will not forget for the rest of his life.

After allegedly trying to rob and injuring a hawker at a busy street in town, it is said that he had boasted that no one could touch him and that he would kill anyone who dared come near him. It is suspected that he had robbed a hawker of his stock the previous day and that nothing was done to help the hawker.

Eyewitnesses say the incident happened at around 08: 30 on Monday morning when the hawker was busy serving a customer. “I was not far from where it happened when I saw this man trying to search the hawker. The hawker tried to defend himself and that was when the robber used a brick to hit him on the head. The hawker was seriously injured and was taken to hospital,” said a man who did not want to be identified.

He further indicated that the man stood at the road shouting at the top of his voice, saying that no one could touch him and he would kill anyone who tried to catch him. “This man is feared here in town and people were just standing there, fearing to catch him. But they soon gathered courage and surrounded him. That was when all hell broke loose. He was attacked by all, using an assortment of weapons, including bricks and a sjambok. He ran to a nearby shop and the owners had to close it in fear of the angry shoppers," he said.

The timely arrival of the police saved him from certain death. The police struggled to keep order, with angry shoppers threatening to finish him off. The police summoned an ambulance and he was taken away to hospital, but angry residents also tried to block the way for the ambulance.

Residents sighed with relief. “We know this man; he robs people in broad daylight. But with him having been disciplined today, we will spend our monies without fear and we hope this sends a message out there to all that crime will not be tolerated in Thohoyandou,” said a man at the scene.

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Const Avhafarei Tshiovhe said two attempted murder cases had been opened in connection with the incident at Tshisahulu, while another one was opened regarding the incident at Thohoyandou. She said two men aged 20 and 30 years were under police guard at the local hospital. They will appear in court as soon as they are discharged from the hospital.

Tshiovhe further warned residents not to take the law into their own hands but to work with the police in apprehending criminals.