Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has reprimanded the residents of the province about taking the law into their own hands.
This after angry residents of Mshongoville informal settlement in Atteridgeville, on the west of Pretoria pounced on a “criminal” while he was being treated in an ambulance, killing him instantly and wounding the paramedics in the process.
“This is totally unacceptable. We cannot allow society to degenerate like this,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko on Wednesday.
“Mob justice or taking the law into our own hands cannot be the answer to addressing some of the socioeconomic issues affecting communities. There has to be a better way.”
She also addressed the attack on healthcare workers, after the paramedics who were treating the alleged criminal were also wounded during the mob justice on Monday, saying the healthcare workers have a responsibilities to provide care to those who need it.
The Gauteng emergency communication centre said its personnel came under attack while attending to a victim of assault at an informal settlement outside Pretoria.
The alleged thug had already been beaten to a pulp when the ambulance arrived. He was further assaulted while lying on a stretcher, which resulted in his death. The ambulance’s medical equipment was also stolen.
The violence continued when the residents pelted the ambulance crew with stones. It was only after the police had intervened that the crew managed to leave the volatile informal settlement.
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