Cape Town – Police have reportedly arrested six people and more arrests are expected in connection with the alleged mob justice killing of a man who has been identified as an E-hailing driver.
Reports identified the driver as Abongile Mafalala from Dunoon, near Bloubergstrand.
Mafalala was beaten and burned to death by angry residents of Parkwood in Cape Town earlier this week. This was after they suspected him of being a kidnapper.
Videos and pictures of Mafalala being brutally beaten with various objects and burned alive circulated on social media.
Grassy Park police station commander Dawood Laing reportedly confirmed the arrests on Thursday, News24 reported.
“Police are still busy searching for more suspects. The investigation is ongoing,” the report quoted Laing as saying.
Grassy Park police also cleared Mafalala, saying there was no proof of attempted kidnapping, a report by IOL said.
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Laing said detectives questioned the security guard and a nurse at the clinic where the alleged kidnapping took place but no evidence suggesting a snatching was found, the report said.
“This is mass hysteria caused by social media and the spreading of fake news. We are just as worried about kidnappings, but if you look at the actual reported cases, you will see it’s not near as many as reported on social media,” said Laing
EWN reported that since the beginning of the National Child Protection Week, police had noticed more false information about child kidnappings on social media.
“We wish to caution social media users against the posting of unverified information about kidnappings or abductions. Since the launch of the National Child Protection Week, the South African Police Service has observed false accounts of child kidnappings or abductions. The offense of kidnapping is observed in a serious light by the South African Police Service, hence all reported cases are assigned to seasoned detectives,” the report quoted police’s Joseph Swartbooi as saying.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
