Community members are calling for vigilantes to stop the killings in Blikkiesdorp after two “innocent” men were brutally killed.
One of the men was necklaced - a tyre was placed around his body, he was doused with petrol and set alight, and the other’s throat was slit so deeply that his head was nearly severed.
When the Daily Voice visited the notorious Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) in Delft on Tuesday, it looked like a ghost town with people
hiding inside their homes, fearing for their lives.
Five police vans were parked at the entrance, with the occasional vehicle patrolling.
Earlier this month, the vigilantes told the Daily Voice they were on a mission to cleanse Blikkiesdorp of skelms and gangsters.
Homes of suspected members of the Gifteds gang were broken down and some members were set alight, while others had had their fingers cut off.
The latest two killings have sent shock waves through the community, who say they have had enough of the vigilantes because the two victims “were no longer skollies”.
On Friday, 14 September, Tashreeq “Bob” Johnson, 26, was dragged from his house in O Block by three men and necklaced.
SLAIN: Tashreeq Johnson, 26. Photo: Supplied
A family member, who asked not to be identified, says Tashreeq knew he was a target: “He was warned by people in the community, but he said he wasn’t going to hide because he wasn’t running with the gang anymore and said he didn’t do anything wrong.
“But three people came and took him while he stood in the kitchen, [doused] him with petrol [and burnt him].”
On Sunday night, dad of four John Florence, 26, vanished after attending church.
MURDERED: John Florence, 26. Photo: Supplied
His girlfriend, 36, says: “He just came from church and someone called him and he told the baby he is coming back now.”
She admits John was a member of the 26s prison gang and that he had been jailed three weeks ago for malicious damage to property following a domestic dispute.
GRIEVING: John’s girlfriend. Photo: Jack Lestrade
“I looked for him the evening and the Monday morning,” she says.
“I was called to go to the morgue and identified him by the clothing he wore.”
His body was found dumped on a field at the entrance of the camp.
“Why did they have to murder him so brutally? He didn’t rob anyone,” says the woman.
She says two weeks ago John was also cornered by vigilantes, who accused him of being a gang leader, and tied him to a pole.
A community member, who asked not to be identified, says they want the killings to end because there has been too much bloodshed: “The people are too afraid to leave their houses and even if you were just friendly with these gangsters, you can get in trouble.
“We need the bloodshed to end because the area is safe now and too many have died. There is a court that can punish those who are guilty.”
Police confirmed two cases of murder are being investigated, but no arrests have been made.