Seven alleged criminals were arrested, tied up and burned alive by a crowd in one of the most violent townships in South Africa, according to police and residents of the area this weekend.
According to police spokesperson Mavela Masondo, "preliminary investigation indicates that the victims were attacked and burned alive by the crowd" on Friday night. The Police sent reinforcements to the scene.
"They were chased, caught and tied before they were killed. Yes, it was a necklace," said one resident, alluding to the "necklace torture," which consists of using a tire (or ropes) and placing them around the victim's neck. , which is doused with gasoline before being set on fire.
The Police "firmly condemned" the events, the spokesperson highlighted.
South Africa's crime rate is one of the highest in the world. But those responsible for the majority-black township of Diepsloot, a city of more than 350,000 inhabitants north of Johannesburg, where numerous murders and rapes occur, claim that the city was abandoned by the authorities.
In the country, of about 60 million inhabitants, an average of 68 murders were reported daily in the second quarter of 2023, that is, an increase of almost 20% compared to the same period in 2019.
