Police in Bulawayo have issued a strong warning to the public against taking the law into their own hands, urging citizens to report suspects to the nearest police station instead of resorting to violence.
This advisory comes in the wake of a tragic incident in which a man, suspected of theft, was murdered by a mob in the Lobengula suburb.
The deceased was reportedly involved in a robbery alongside three accomplices, targeting a victim who had his Samsung A23 mobile phone and earphones stolen.
The police have identified two of the murder suspects as Advice Dibula, 36, and Khulekelani Mhlanga, 43, both residents of Lobengula West.
According to the deputy spokesperson for the ZRP in Bulawayo Province, Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele, the violent altercation took place on December 21 at around 3 AM, as the three men were returning home from Marisha Night Club in the Old Magwegwe suburb. Said Msebele:
As the three were walking near a certain house in Lobengula West suburb, they met the now deceased, whose identity is still unknown, in the company of three other male adults who began to assault them using unknown objects for no reason.
One of the now deceased’s team forcibly took one of the three’s Samsung A23 mobile phone and earphones from his trousers pocket.
The now-deceased had assaulted one of the three men, striking him in the face three times with his fists, causing him to fall to the ground. Said Msebele:
One of the men managed to escape from the scene and alerted the residents. Police attended the scene and found the now deceased lying on the ground unconscious bleeding from the mouth with a cut on his head.
An ambulance was summoned which ferried the now deceased to Mpilo Hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The body was conveyed to the mortuary for post-mortem and the accused persons were arrested.
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