NEWS & ANALYSIS

Mob hunts down, burns to death 3 men in Limpopo

This was in retaliation for the killing of a young man in tavern early Saturday morning

Mob hunts down, burns to death 3 men they suspect of murder after beer hall fight

A mob in Mphephu outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo has attacked and killed 3 men, suspected of killing another man at a tavern in the early hours of Saturday morning.

It is understood that a fight broke out at a beer hall in ga-Mulelu village where a 22-year-old man was later found dead in a pool of blood.

Subsequent to this death, it is alleged that members of the community mobilised each other and started hunting down those who were purportedly responsible for the man's death.

When they found the trio they suspected of the murder, they took them back to the spot where the 22-year-old was killed, stoned and burned them to death.

Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said a "massive manhunt the group of suspects who took the law into their own hands has been launched".

"Four cases of murder have been opened for further police investigations," Ngoepe said.

The process of identifying the three deceased was still unfolding.

Limpopo police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba has condemned the recurring incidents of mob-attacks and killings that are still prevalent in some parts of his province "with the most strongest terms", and warned members of the community to refrain from taking the law into their own hands.

"The police must be given a space to deal with any criminal act without [the community] resorting to violence which is totally uncalled for," Ledwaba concluded

News24