A man accused of terrorising the community of Mpheni village near Elim ended up at the bottom of a pit toilet after being chased by angry residents.

Community members from Mpheni village have been battling with problems of theft for some time now. Last Thursday night, the robbing thugs were at it again and three of them allegedly tried to steal clothes from a washing line. Neighbours apparently heard when Elias Khangale (25) and his two friends were busy with their evil deeds and started chasing them. Other members of the community quickly joined in the chase and the three suspects had to run for their lives. Luckily for them, they escaped the hands of the angry mob.

Some of the community members did not give up the chase that easily and continued searching for the suspects the next day. After a long search, one of the community members heard a scream coming from inside a toilet. When they went closer to investigate, they found Khangale inside the pit toilet where he had been trying to hide. Community members then decided to call the police, who rescued Khangale from the stinking toilet.

“We received a call from community members of Mpheni Block-B, saying that one of the thieves who had been terrorising the community had fallen inside a pit toilet,” said the spokesperson for the Waterval police, Insp Kedibone Mabatha.

He said that when he arrived at the scene with other police officers, Khangale was still inside the toilet. “We then called a team from the Makhado SAPS, who rescued him from the stinking pool of waste inside the toilet,” said Mabatha.

According to Mabatha, the incident happened at around 07:00 last Thursday.