ANGRY residents of Lethabong in Tshwane want the people who were involved in the murder of two men to be urgently arrested.
Residents said the two men, Paulos Tibane (61) and Solomon Mashaba, were innocent and shouldn't have died such a painful death at the hands of a mob.
The residents killed the two men on Sunday, 7 January.
The community accused the residents from the neighbouring kasi, Skirilek, of killing the two men.
According to the Lethabong residents, they were outnumbered by Skirilek residents, who allegedly amounted to about 200.
The residents picketed outside the Boschkop Police Station on Tuesday, 9 January, and handed over a memorandum to station commander Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Witbooi.
The Community Safety Green Door ambassador, Tonia Chabalala from Lethabong, said the reason for picketing outside the police station was that they wanted justice and the arrest of the killers.
"Our complaint is about the poor service from the police station. We called for police intervention, and one police van with two police officers was sent to the scene. This was after we waited for more than three hours," she said.
ALSO READ: Steenhuisen: SASSA grants will end if . . .
She said the poor service from the police led to the deaths of the two men.
"The two men were killed after being suspected that they were thugs terrorising their kasi, but we insist that they were innocent," she said.
Chabalala said the residents were armed with dangerous weapons, and there were about 200 of them.
"We plead with the residents of Lethabong to bring the suspects to the police. We want all who were part of the mob to be arrested," said Chabalala.
Resident Sina Mothwa (29) said she was heartbroken because of the incident.
"The deceased were good people. The evil residents killed innocent people," she said.
Resident Tshepo Ngubeni (44) said they want a mobile police station in the area.
Lindiwe Lebese (53) said they begged them not to kill them, but the residents from Skirilek didn't listen.
Leader Sheita Matsepane (40) said they don't need any apology because what they did is evil."
We want electricity in our Kasi.
"We want Police Minister Bheki Cele to address us because we're tired of crime," she said.
Paulos' son Lazarus Themba (25) said he is still weak and in pain after his father was killed and his home burnt down by the residents.
Witbooi received the memorandum and addressed the residents.
"My station is open for everyone without making an appointment. The police didn't kill those people. It's you as a community who killed them. You know the criminals, but you don't come forward to tell us," he said.
