Jonk believes that public justice was the immediate solution to tackling crime, only when community members have strong evidence.
By Staff Journalist
news@alexreporter.co.za
When a thug, dressed in a hood, came into Jonk Mashamba’s house, in Alex, he and his wife were dead asleep.
It’s doubtful how the bad guy got into the safe house.
However, it is suspected master keys and muthi are their aides.
What still echoes in Jonk’s memory is a slight noise after the door has been opened.
Although the incident occurred in 2019, the fresh memories have terrorized Jonk, who has not yet found closure.
The incident was reported to the police, but the matter remained unresolved.
He says that there is always a recall of what happened on the fateful day, especially when he writes articles similar to what happened to him.
When the thug entered the room, he murmured, ‘I will kill you if you scream’ before he ties Jonk up with shoelaces.
“And when he was done, he put a blanket over me and my wife, and commanded us not to look at him.
“He then made it plain that he wanted to take valuables, rape my wife on my watch and then shoot me,” Jonk shares.
Jonk said he and his wife were already in prayer.
“The perpetrator used a flashlight. I would sometimes remove the blanket to see his moves.
“He went to the plasma television and took out the cables,” revealed an award-winning reporter.
At the time, Jonk, affectionately known as Mr. Lee Tonic, had two choices: to risk his life and save himself and his wife, or to let the rogue complete his mission.
“I saw him heading towards the bed. This is where I took a serious risk and kicked him to the ground. Miraculously, the lace was loose and the thug had been already down.
“He gained strength at once and ran. We went after him, but he got ahead of us.
“He took both our phones, damaged my laptop and my camera, which fell off when I hit him.”
Jonk recounted what took place before his incident.
He says the man, with a similar description, entered his neighbor’s house in the middle of the night and found a 27-year-old woman alone in the room.
“He stole her three phones before he dragged her out and stabbed her in the private parts.”
The community of Selbourne 19 and 20 was extremely angry when the thug entered the bedroom of another neighbor of Jonk, found a man and shot him in both legs.
Subsequently, a meeting was held and it was agreed that the men would patrol the area until the morning.
“During our first patrol, two men were spotted around 10:00 pm. And when we chased them, they just shot at us. However, we did not back down until we were able to catch one.”
Before the rogue was treated viciously by the community, especially the youths, he admitted that he was one of the guys responsible for the break-ins.
The thug, who is said to have stayed on Seventeenth Avenue, showed the community where his friend lived.
When the police arrived, undisciplined young people continued to assault the young thug.
“When we showed the gun to the police, a police officer said we should have burned the outlaw alive.
“The officer indicated that the police were also affected by the crimes because they were also community members.”
The community continued to patrol and a few days later, two thugs were seen robbing a woman and dragging her to the pedestrian bridge at approximately 21:00 at 20 Selbourne.
The crowd followed, one escaped and his accomplice was nailed down and sent to his gods.
Three times, three thugs were found and beaten in an awful way.
Since November 2019, the community has enjoyed peace.
“It’s better if the thugs don’t try to get there because we’ll connect them with their ancestors,” Jonk warned.
“Alex’s beauty was compromised as a result of a standardized daily shooting. Barely a day goes by without us hearing stories of shootings, break-ins and murders of innocent souls; and thieves continue to have a field day.
“As the season changes, many dark corners of Alex become hot spots of crime, but the police are hardly seen there.
“While police claim they lack the resources to contain the situation, criminal elements continue to wreak havoc.
“To believe that public justice could be a solution, you don’t have to first become a victim of crime,” concludes Jonk.
Big up to the community of Alex. Mob justice seems to be the necessary solution in this country