Vigilante mob kills and burn two suspects
The men were severely assaulted. One died during this mob attack. Members of the community asked the second man to show them where they had killed the victim, who was a matric learner at Kusakwezwe Secondary School. He apparently escorted them to the scene where the body of the victim was found with an open wound to the upper body.
BUSHBUCKRIDGE – Angry members of the community went on the rampage on Tuesday night. They killed and set alight two men who they claim were part of a gang of five men who had kidnapped and murdered a 20-year-old, pregnant woman.
According to reliable sources the two victims were hunted down by the angry mob who were armed with sjamboks, stones and sticks, at Matibiti Village.
The men were severely assaulted. One died during this mob attack.
Members of the community asked the second man to show them where they had killed the victim, who was a matric learner at Kusakwezwe Secondary School.
He apparently escorted them to the scene where the body of the victim was found with an open wound to the upper body.
The mob demanded that the man divulge the names of the other assailants.
“He mentioned three guys before he was necklaced and burnt alive,” added the source. Police launched a manhunt for the five suspects, who allegedly kidnapped and murdered the victim whose body was found in the bush between Saselani and Dwarsloop villages on Sunday morning.
The gruesome discovery left the community reeling with shock.
According to police, the victim was kidnapped from her home at around 23:00 after the suspects entered a shack in Saselani Village where she was asleep with her 24-year-old sister.
According to SAPS information, the suspects held the victims at gunpoint and demanded money after which they kidnapped the grade-12 learner.
Lt Ndlovukazi Mashele, spokesperson for Bushbuckridge police, confirmed the incident.
She added that police had opened two cases of murder in connection with the killing of the two men. Two other suspects have been arrested in connection with house robbery, kidnapping and murder of the learner.
“It is very hard to say how she died because we don’t have the results of the post-mortem yet. What I can confirm is that she was found with an open wound to the upper body. We cannot tell if she was raped until we have the post-mortem results,” explained Mashele.
The provincial police commissioner, Gen Dumisa Magadlela, strongly condemned the killings as such actions constitute lawlessness and are punishable by law.
The police further appeal to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the remaining suspects to contact the investigating officer, WO Vincent Monaiwa, on 082-054-2980 or 013-799-5517/8.
