Rustenburg: A 69-year-old woman was killed, burnt and buried in a shallow grave next to her house, allegedly by her relative, in Zwelisha, Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Thursday.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said the elderly woman, identified as Welephi Ndlovu, was assaulted with a hammer.
She said police in Verulam received a report of a person who was killed and buried in a shallow grave in Zwelisha on Wednesday night.
“Upon arrival at the Zwelisha area in Verulam, police found the woman suspected to be involved in the murder and she was rescued from angry community members by police.
"The suspect was taken to Verulam SAPS for further investigation. It was established that the same woman allegedly conspired with a male and killed the elderly woman by assaulting her with a hammer," she said.
“The shallow grave was also allegedly cemented by the same suspects. All role-players were summoned to the scene and the police officers from the search and rescue unit swiftly responded. The body of a 69-year-old woman was found buried in a shallow grave next to her house. It is suspected that she was set alight before being buried."
A 34-year-old woman was arrested and was due to appear in the Verulam Magistrate's Court on Friday, facing a charge of murder.
In a separate incident, Gwala said a 33-year-old man was arrested in KwaMashu, after he was allegedly found in possession of an illegal 9mm pistol with several rounds of ammunition.
"The suspect was ... linked to a business robbery that was committed in KwaMashu.
“It is alleged that on March 15 2022 at 17.30, a group of armed men entered a food outlet premises situated at P section in KwaMashu. The suspects held the staff and customers at gunpoint. The suspects took cash from tills and robbed customers of their cellphones. They fled the scene by stealing one of the customer’s vehicle. The vehicle was later found abandoned in KwaMashu. A business robbery case was opened at KwaMashu police station for investigation."
He was expected to appear in the Ntuzuma Magistrate's Court on Friday, facing charges of business robbery and the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
IOL