Police in Francistown are investigating a horrific incident in which a suspected thief was allegedly killed by an angry mob in Monarch location.
The Station Commander of Francistown Police Station, Cyprian Magalila, told the Telegraph in an interview that last week they received a report of an incident in which a 30-year-old man was found unconscious after allegedly being assaulted by a mob.
“The information we got is that the deceased had broken into a vehicle which was parked in a yard in an attempt to steal and was later found by people who beat him to a pulp,” he said.
According to the police, the man, Merapelo Chengeta, who hails from Zwenshambe Village, is a criminal whose other cases range from rape, assault and house-breaking.
He said that when they got to the scene, Chengeta was lying unconscious and they then whisked him to Nyangabwe Hospital where he was transferred to Princess Marina Hospital in a Med-Rescue aircraft but was certified dead upon arrival.
Magalila warned the public about taking the law into their own hands, saying that the public can only help arrest a criminal and hand him over to the police. He went on to say that the court of law is the only body that is tasked with bringing suspects to book.
“Should we arrest the perpetrators, they will obviously face a charge of murder,” he said.
Meanwhile, Magalila said that they are also investigating another bizarre incident in which a 34-year-old man of Monarch location burnt himself to death in his house.
