Criminologists have blamed a lack of criminal justice in courts for communities turning into vigilantes to deal with criminals.

They were reacting to the news that five men were allegedly hacked to death in the Bambayi area of Inanda on Friday.

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said three bodies were found at a sports ground near a school, whereas the other two bodies were discovered at another field, about a kilometre away from the first crime scene.

He said that police have arrested 12 people in connection with the murders. He said they belong to a forum in the community. The suspects, aged between 22 and 70 years old, will appear in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

“Information at police’s disposal at this stage suggests that the victims, aged between 19 and 26 years old, were allegedly kidnapped from their homes in Bambayi. One victim had his arm chopped off,” Netshiunda said.

Private security company Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) spokesperson, Prem Balram, said one of the men sustained a partial amputation to his right hand and a second individual’s skull was crushed. He said the others appeared to have been hacked and beaten to death.

“RUSA members interviewed several individuals at the scene who alleged that the deceased were known robbers and drug users who were terrorising the community. They were also allegedly responsible for raping multiple school girls,” Balram said.

Balram claimed that frustrated residents allegedly tracked down the males to the grounds and executed them.

Crime expert Mary de Haas said the Inanda policing precinct was extensive and the area was known to be a crime hotspot.

“For now, we do not know the reason behind their deaths but it appears the community had taken the law into their own hands. Drugs are becoming a pandemic in communities and are also the root cause of some of the crimes,” De Haas said.

“Communities all over South Africa feel that the criminal justice system has let them down. The courts request for police detective work to be meticulous and provide the necessary evidence for prosecution but this is lacking.

“Criminals are also given bail easily. The police also need to follow up on suspicious activities and crime dens when the community complains. I have dealt with cases of sexual assault and rape where the police did not do anything to help the victims and the perpetrators were allowed to walk freely,” De Haas added.

She said the police needed to strengthen crime intelligence structures.

“The partnership between the courts and the police detectives is dysfunctional. How many rapists get convicted? They are far and few between,” she said.

Rural Criminologist, Professor Witness Maluleke, head of department: Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Limpopo, believes that there is still a long way to go to positively address the root causes of crime, as the current actions prove the impossible mandate to holistically win the war against crime.

Maluleke said the failing Criminal Justice System (CJS) prompted South African citizens to take the law into their own hands.

“The police are largely failing with crime combating, prevention, investigation and maintenance of order in our communities, while the justice system is not giving deterrent sentences to the arrested offenders and the correctional services are failing behind with rehabilitation services,” said Maluleke.

Maluleke said the community and the CJS are working in isolation against crime, including other relevant stakeholders

In November 2024, quarterly crime statistics for the second quarter depicted Inanda as the country’s murder capital, recording 81 murders from July to September – a rise from 76 during the same period in 2023.

The statistics also revealed Inanda’s alarming status as the area with the highest number of reported rape cases in the country, with 76 incidents logged in the second quarter of 2024, marginally up from 75 during the same period last year.

Inanda registered the third-highest number of cases of contact crime – 934 incidents, up from 886 last year – reflecting a broader trend of escalating violence in the region.

On robbery at residential premises, Inanda has the second highest cases at 69 cases, a drop from 76 in 2023.

In January 2024, six suspects were killed following a shootout in Inanda, and three others were arrested. Police recovered firearms and different types of ammunition.

In April 2024, three people were killed in the Nhlungwane area in Inanda. Police found the body of two men and a woman with multiple gunshot wounds in their home.

In June 2024, three neighbourhood watch members were shot and killed. Two of the men, who were part of the eThekwini Neighbourhood Watch in Inanda, were shot and killed allegedly by a gang that was reportedly terrorising the community.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za