The South African Council of Churches is to send a delegation within a week to meet the Braamfischerville community leadership with a view of having a first-hand understanding of events leading to the necklace killings of two suspected criminals this week.

"The return of necklace killings in our country is just too ghastly to contemplate. It is something we have to avoid, and the events of the past few days which resulted in the necklacing of suspected criminals should serve as a wake-up call to our nation," said the SACC spokesperson, Fr Joe Mdhlela, in a statement today.

"This country must not descend to the pre-1994 era where necklace killings became the order of the day. We have to interact and engage community leaders robustly, seeking to show the folly of vigilantism and revenge killing methods.

"The SACC is making a call to all, including the government, non-governmental organisations, churches, business, trade unions, and political parties, to play a role of inculcating a culture of tolerance and patience.

"It is in this light that the SACC decries the necklace killings of the Soweto Khoza brothers - Bashimane and Tefo - expressing disgust at this cruel behaviour by those responsible for the killings.

"The function of apprehending criminals, or people suspecting to be involved in criminal activities, belongs to the police, and they alone. We may help to make a citizen's arrest, but the entire function belongs to the police. Communities have no right to take the law into their own hands, and the level of their frustration as a result of perceived inept behaviour on the part of the police should serve as no justification to resort to vigilantism.

"Our view is that there is nothing wrong in communities apprehending suspected criminals provided this action does not hinder police investigation.

"We know that the Ministry of Safety and Security is engaged in various efforts to improve the efficiency levels of police service. We congratulate the Minister, Charles Nqakula, on the task of bringing about these improvements. But we also know that we are still far from achieving pockets of excellence in the police service. A lot has still to be done.

"But just because there may be weaknesses in the system does not mean that we should condone acts of barbarism. The SACC is hoping for the speedy arrest of those involved in these acts of barbarism."

Issued by Fr Joe Mdhlela 083 641 1281