South Africa: a crowd ties up then burns 7 suspected criminals alive
In the township of Diepsloot, South Africa, a mob tied up and burned to death seven men accused of being behind a wave of crimes.
The criminals would have suffered the “collar torture”, that is to say the use of a tire placed around the neck of the victim, doused with gasoline before being set on fire. According to police spokesperson Mavela Masondo, “preliminary investigation indicates victims were attacked and burned by crowd“.
Police reinforcements were sent to the scene. “They were chased, caught and tied up before being killed. Yes, it was a necklace», Specified a resident in reference to the “torture of the necklace“, that is to say the use of a tire (or ropes) placed around the neck of the victim, doused with gasoline before being set on fire. The police “Strongly condemns acts of self-defense and taking the law into their own hands, as this constitutes a serious criminal offense», According to the spokesperson.
South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world. But officials in the predominantly black township of Diepsloot, a town of more than 350,000 people north of Johannesburg with numerous murders and rapes, say the town has been abandoned by authorities. The country, which has around 60 million inhabitants, recorded an average of 68 murders per day in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of almost 20% compared to the same period in 2019.