Durban - Protesters have gathered outside Howick Magistrate's Court where a man accused of killing a 107-year-old woman is expected to appear on Wednesday.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbhele said the 39-year-old man allegedly strangled the woman in her home on Sunday in the Mpophomeni area in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
The man was out on parole for two rape convictions at the time of the murder.
"Post-mortem results will determine as to whether the woman was raped before being killed," said Mbhele.
According to the Department of Social Development, one of her grandchildren heard a noise around midnight and went to investigate only to run into the suspect trying to escape.
Picture: Nosipho Mngoma/ANA
Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi said in a statement on Tuesday that the incident demonstrated how unsafe women are in their communities.
"This grandmother was attacked in the safety of her home by a man young enough to be her grandchild, who is known to the family. In a normal society this young man should have been the one protecting the family."
He was arrested after being handed over to police by his own family.
"We must take comfort in the fact that his own family disapproved of his actions and handed him to police. I wish all families who find themselves in a similar situation would show the courage displayed by this man's family," said Thusi.