Vlakfontein family murder case postponed

The case against Fita Khupe, 61, and Ernest Mabaso, 27, accused of killing seven family members in Vlakfontein, has been postponed.

The pair appeared in the Lenasia Magistrates Court on Monday making their second appearance following the murder of the Khoza family members.

The men both face premeditated murder and theft charges. The 27-year-old is also facing rape charges.

The men were arrested after bodies of the family were found at the Vlakfontein house south of Johannesburg buried under sand.

One suspect was arrested in Dobsinville Soweto while the other was arrested by a Mpumalanga border. Police found bank cards belonging to the victims.

Khoza is said to have lived on the property where the bodies were found and is alleged to have disappeared shortly after the discovery.

It was also later revealed that Mabaso and Khupe are both foreign nationals. Mabaso is from Zimbabwe, and Khupe is from Mozambique.

Officers responded to a complaint from a community member after a resident reported a stench coming from the house.

According to the police, officers found a pile of sand in the bedroom where a woman and three children were found buried.

The police’s Mavela Masondo said: “Police proceeded to a backroom in the same yard where three more bodies, two female adults and a child, were discovered, also buried beneath sand.”

Seven cases of murder are being investigated.

The victims were laid to rest last Sunday.

(Compiled by Gopolang Chawane)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.