Pretoria - At least six people were murdered in a vigilante attack in Mpumalanga, and police are investigating the link between the murders and a robbery of a liquor outlet in the area.
Provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the law enforcement agents initially received distress calls of two people being attacked by the angry community.
“One life lost is too many. Mpumalanga police have in several occasions called on community members to refrain from taking the law into their own hands, but Kabokweni police had their hands full when six people perished in the hands of the community,” Mohlala said.
In the early hours of Friday 21 August 2023, police responded to the mob attack where two people were reported to have been brutally assaulted and lost their lives in Sifunindlela Trust next to Bhuga.
“To the police’s surprise, on their arrival it was not only an attack to human lives, but also a malicious injury (damage) to property whereby a house was burnt down,” he said.
Two victims were certified dead by emergency medical personnel on the scene, a third person was seriously injured and later succumbed to his injuries.
“Police had tough time in getting the deceased to the mortuary as a number of community members crowded the scene and obstructed police from performing their duties. Whilst police were still on the scene, they received a call that two other bodies - a 21-year man and 40-year-old man - were found with multiple injuries in Khumbula at about 2pm,” said Mohlala.
Two hours later, Mohlala said police received further information about a sixth body which was found in the bushes at Clau-Clau.
“Unconfirmed information links the first three victims to be the suspects in an armed robbery which took place at one of the liquor outlets in Emvangati, whereby they were allegedly identified by community members,” he said.
“Police cannot link the other three murders to the robbery and hope an intense investigation will reveal the real cause.”
Only two victims have been identified so far and the other four remain unknown.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela issued a strong warning to community members to refrain from taking the law and into their own hands, urging them to allow justice to play its role.
"Other people might be victimised for hidden agendas by their accusers and end up losing their lives for crimes they never committed," she said.
IOL