Last week, seven young black men were killed and burnt to death in Diepsloot, a black working-class township in Johannesburg. Mob justice against criminals operating in the area was apparently the motive for the multiple murders.
The self-appointment of community members as complainants, arresters, detectives, judges and executioners in a country that prides itself as a defender of human rights and where the death penalty is banned has left many people wondering what has gone wrong with our society.
The residents of Diepsloot say they
