In most cases, none of the attackers are charged and no one cares to verify the facts before the beating starts, as Khulekani Jeya of Somerset East found out at great cost. After tasting mob justice at the Francistown bus rank, Jeya is now lying at Nyangabgwe Hospital with a stab wound on his upper left ribs. His is an unfortunate ordeal because he claims he never stole anything from anyone.
Speaking from his hospital bed, the 26-year-old man, who is a company football player and mechanic at Naledi Motors, said that he landed in trouble when crossing the rank from practice at a time people were chasing a thief.
All of a sudden, someone started assaulting him with an umbrella handle, he said. “I lifted my eyes in confusion and when I tried to inquire as to why I was being assaulted, a sharp instrument cut through my ribs and a cloud of dizziness enveloped me.
“The public gave chase as I darted blindly between buses to the rescue of the security guards at Shoprite supermarket. I watched in shock as the blood gushed and wetted my clothes as I waited for the police that the security guards had called”.
A woman whose money was stolen came to identify Jeya and felt sorry for him. She had seen the thief snatching her handbag but his features looked nothing close to the attacked man’s resemblance.
In an interview with Mmegi, vendor Patience Banengi, 33, said that the assault of innocent victims at the rank has become a daily norm.
“There is a team of thieves here who, after stealing, assist their members to escape by shouting and running after an innocent person. And when the truth is realised, the real thief would have long gone and the unlucky victim would be left in a very bad condition.”
Banengi added that those who want to settle scores with their enemies also use the system of shouting thief after their enemies.
“You want to see it happen? I can experiment that on you. If I just point now and shout ‘Ke yoo!’ in a few minutes you will be dust and blood,” she said jokingly. A taxi driver confirmed that the number of innocent victims of mob justice at the rank is now outnumbering that of thieves.
“This place is a roaming area for Zimbabwean illegal immigrants and unauthorised vendors who panic when the by-law officers and the police carry out patrols. But when they try to run away, the public suspects them as thieves and the beating starts,” he revealed.
Suspected thieves are not the only ones who fall prey to the mob. Women in mini-skirts have had their skirts and underwear torn apart as public transport operators spit, harass and point their manhoods at them. “They call her names and tell her that if she is a prostitute, they will dish her all what she wants,” said a security guard at Shoprite Supermarket complex.
The guard also revealed that like in cases of theft, the onslaught against mini-skirts starts with whistles. The whistles are followed by one of the transport operators telling the unsuspecting woman to pick up a coin that she has dropped on the ground.
When she bends down, someone behind her kicks her exposed bums and the community of taxi rankers fall on her like hungry vultures.
A 56-year old resident of Blue-town township, Tshepo Kgopolang, approves the way the drivers treat the women in mini-skirts stating that they are an embarrassment to society. “In our culture, a typical Motswana woman brings pride and respect to her nation through the way she dresses.
“If your child brings home a woman who dresses in tight pants and mini-skirts, take him aside as a parent and counsel him before he sinks in this grave that he is digging for himself.
“Women in mini-skirts are prostitutes and prostitutes carry sexually transmitted diseases,” she said. Vendors at the rank said that the problem could only be solved if the police regularly patrolled the place. “We have a police makeshift charge office here that when first introduced we thought was going to solve our problems. But it seems that the officers on duty are there to sit and chat in wait for those who go to report. They arrive too late at the scene,” said one vendor.
Central Police Station Commander Chajane Atlholang Baliseng confirmed that his office has handled many assault cases at the rank and the problem was escalating.
“In many cases, the victim fails to identify the attackers, thereby making it impossible for the police to carry out investigations,” he said. He appealed to the public to stop taking the law into their hands saying that it was a serious crime. He warned that anyone caught in the act will be charged depending on the condition of the victim.
“We usually slap them with charges of assault, unlawful wounding and causing grievous harm. The sentences for these offences range from a maximum of five, seven and 14-years respectively,” he said.
