Lwandle vigilante killing Condemned

Statement by Dan Plato, Western Cape Minister of Community Safety

I condemn in the strongest possible terms the incident of vigilante killing which occurred in Lwandle over the weekend.

No matter what the circumstances or allegations, we cannot allow our communities to catch, prosecute, convict and deal a death sentence to alleged criminals.

Safety is everyone’s responsibility but taking the law into your own hands does not make our communities safer.

Vigilantism is a crime and it will not be tolerated by law enforcement agencies. Anyone involved in the incident over the weekend has blood on their hands and need to take responsibility for their actions.

Various alternatives exist to taking the law into your own hands, regardless of whether the alleged criminals were indeed guilty of crimes or not.

I call on the broader Lwandle community to assist the police in their investigation and I call on all community leaders across the Western Cape to help prevent vigilante attacks from occurring.

All crimes have to be reported to the nearest police station for investigation. Communities should partner with the police and law enforcement authorities to help create safer environments.

Where communities feel they do not receive the necessary safety service delivery, they should report it to either:

• The Neighbourhood Watch or Community Policing Forum for escalation;
• The Office of the Western Cape Provincial Police Ombudsman;
• The Department of Community Safety by lodging a complaint at 021 483 4332 or via email at policing.complaints@westerncape.gov.za or safer@westerncape.gov.za.

I trust the South African Police Service’s (SAPS’) investigation will lead to imminent arrests as these crimes have no place in our communities.