Thief ‘escapes’ torching, family pleads for his life

A youthful thief caught red handed walking out of a victim’s house with assorted electronic gadgets survived being torched after the owner and his relatives pleaded with a mob that ‘taught him a lesson’.

A brother to the apprehended house-break, pleaded with the mob not to hurt his brother and asked them to take him to the police instead, as the mob bayed for his life suggesting they conduct a ‘human torch’ on him. The mob said they did not trust the police and would met out their own justice.

His sister also pleaded with the mob. “Please do not hurt him,” she pleaded. Turning to her brother she cried: “We have been advising you to avoid bad behaviour and hanging about with Michael the habitual thief but you do not listen. Look now these people may kill you!”

The theft victim, an electrical fix, however said all he wanted was to recover the appliances that were stolen as they belonged to his clients.

“You can do whatever you want with him later. Please let him reveal where he has taken those items for they do not belong to me,” he pleaded, as the thief complained to his brother that every moment he wanted to tell them where the loot was, people were hurting him.

“Everytime I want to reveal they are beating me. Zimenezi zikumandibalalitsa mutu (This is disturbing my head…),” he said without shedding a tear, swollen all over but speaking with strength despite heavy wounding, including nails been hit into his skull.

The thief had walked into a house in Area 49 Dubai morning of Tuesday this week with a colleague, Michael, to steal the appliances when he came face to face with the owner, alerted by a small child about the theft.

“The small child alerted the father that people were entering the house and taking away some DVD’s and other items. The man met the thief on the door coming out and gave chase when he started to bolt. The second thief hid in the house unknown to the man and walked out later with more loot,” explained a witness of the mob justice.

The young man was apprehended in the morning around 9 am and he kept the mob on a goose search till 2 pm when the loot was finally discovered in an unfinished house structure within Dubai. Micheal, it was alleged, was since seen walking peacefully into neighboring Baghdad location with a bag, probably to sell some of the loot.

The thief’s wife, who kept looking away as the mob administered their dose of justice, refused to have the people take him to their home. The man was taken to Area 18 Lingadzi police by well-wishers who whisked him away.

The escaped thief, Micheal is also a habitual thief and both are residents of Area 50.

Mob justice is on the increase in both the capital city and the commercial city of Blantyre as people have lost trust in the justice system, particularly the police who they claim are in league with the criminal gangs and individuals, opting to torch alive caught offenders.

Sharing is caring!