Reports of a vigilante group wreaking havoc with a killing spree that has claimed six lives in Amaoti has left the community mystified as to the motives for the murders, which occurred from Friday, 30 August, through the weekend.
Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) responded on Friday after receiving reports that a 43-year-old man was shot and killed while assisting with funeral preparations at his neighbour’s home in Amaoti.
RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram, said: “Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) received a call for assistance at approximately 13.28pm. On arrival, reaction officers located the fatally injured male on the side of the road. It was established that the deceased was assisting his neighbour when approximately twenty males arrived at the residence.”
He said several of the men were armed with pangas and one individual was in possession of a firearm.
“They demanded that the victim hand over his firearm. He was then shot in the neck and abdomen when he informed them that he did not own one. The mob thereafter fled. Two spent 9mm spent cartridges were recovered. Residents wrapped the critically injured male in a blanket and carried him to the road. He succumbed to his injuries and demised,” said Balram.
Meanwhile, in a second incident, reaction officers were called out after a vigilante gang forced a man out of his residence and shot him multiple times in the presence of his family, in Amaoti on Saturday, 31 August.
“According to witnesses, the gang of approximately 20 men armed with firearms and pangas arrived in the area and asked for the deceased by name. They proceeded to several homes in search of him. They were in the process of hacking the door of a single room home before members of the gang located the 42-year-old having breakfast at his relative’s house. They forced him out of the residence and shot him six times. A stray bullet struck the window of a house,” said Balram.
He added that while attending to the scene, reaction officers were informed that the gang shot and killed another man a short distance away.
“Police were in attendance and processing the scene. The suspects are known and are believed to be residents in the area. According to the public, the vigilante gang murdered five men in Amaoti in 24 hours from Friday,” said Balram.
The killing continued with RUSA and police called out to another murder whilst in attendance at a murder scene at a location known as Nigeria, in the North Coast.
“Members of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) and police officers from Inanda SAPS were attending to a murder in an area popularly known as Nigeria when a female informed reaction officers that her brother had been shot in the nearby vicinity, on Saturday. Officers proceeded to the location and discovered the 52-year-old male in the yard. He had been shot five times in the head, chest and leg. He was declared deceased by RUSA paramedics. According to a witness, the man exited his room when two men opened fire on him. The family of the deceased informed reaction officers that the man was unemployed and collected a disability grant due to a disability that affected his ability to walk properly,” Balram said.
He added that the suspects are believed to be part of a vigilante gang that is responsible for six murders that occurred in Amaoti recently.
