TWO MEN BRUTALLY HACKED TO DEATH, BURNT IN S. AFRICA

Limpopo, SOUTH AFRICA

Two men have been killed in what appears to be mob justice-related murders in Limpopo on Monday.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, the men were hacked to death and burnt at the Sebjeng village in Ga-Molepo. The charred bodies of the deceased were found by the police on Tuesday.

"The deceased were allegedly kidnapped on Monday by community members from different villages of Ga-Molepo, apparently accusing them of stock theft," Mojapelo said in a statement.

"They then took them to a community hall at Sebjeng Ga-Molepo where they were severely assaulted.

"The victims were thereafter taken to the bushes next to the old Setlakalane High School where they were burnt. A motor vehicle belonging to one of the deceased was also found torched a few kilometres from the scene."

The provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba, has condemned the attack.

"The people who committed these vigilante acts will be hunted down and brought to book", said Ledwaba.

"South Africa is a constitutional democracy where the rule of law reigns supreme and in which the presumption of innocence must be granted until proved otherwise by the court of law. People must report anyone they suspect of being a criminal to the police and not take the law into their own hands," said Ledwaba.

The deceased were identified as Thabana Mokgohloa, 58, from Ga-Mothapo Nnoko, and Mack Mashapa, 55, from Ga-Magowa. The police are investigating the possibility that a third person might have suffered the same fate.

Cases of two counts of murder and kidnapping have been opened for investigation and a manhunt is already underway. - News24