The 42-year-old post office employee who allegedly murdered UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana has reportedly had his house burnt down in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, Tuesday night, by angry community members.
Several women could be heard chanting and singing, while many people were filming the arson.
Footage of the scene has been shared on social media.
It’s not known if the accused is genuinely the owner of the home, or the community just believes he is. However, a councillor told News24 that he is the owner, while another witness has said that the fire brigade was not allowed to attend to the scene and left for their own safety.
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It emerged this week that the accused has a prior conviction for armed robbery or robbery with aggravating circumstances, as well as a case of rape that was opened against him and later withdrawn.
This was according to the provincial National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in the Western Cape, Eric Ntabazalila.
The case has been postponed to 5 November, while the court has ruled that the suspect not yet be named by the media.
“He did not indicate whether he’s going to apply for bail at this stage but if he does, as the state we indicated that we will oppose bail because this is a schedule 6 crime,” added Ntabazalila.
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