Pretoria - Police in Limpopo have arrested nine people in connection with a murder and a vigilante killing at Rebone Section near Steilop in Gilead.
Speaking to Pretoria News yesterday, police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said they were alerted to a mob justice incident on Saturday.
He said: “On their arrival at the scene, police found a middle aged woman lying in the yard having been severely assaulted, and then they were further directed to another male victim who was lying on the floor unconscious inside the house.
“Medical personnel were then summoned and they certified both victims dead on the scene.
The victims were later identified as John Mojela, 28, and Grace Mongatane, 52.
Mojapelo said the police opened two counts of murder, and immediately commenced with preliminary investigations which revealed that the 28-year-old male victim from Tauatswala had visited his girlfriend when they allegedly got into an altercation.
He said: “The mother apparently intervened, and in the process, they both attacked the boyfriend and strangled him.
“Subsequent to the murder, an angry mob gathered at the said house and started attacking both mother and daughter, and also burnt the house.
“The girlfriend and her siblings managed to escape but her mother was dragged back to the back of the house where she was assaulted with stones and various objects. The suspects then fled the scene.”
A team comprising various police units from the Waterberg District was assembled, and the suspects were arrested on the same day.
The eight, aged between 23 and 78, were arrested for the revenge murder of Mongatane while her daughter was arrested for the murder of Mojela.
The eight will face charges of murder and arson at the Gilead periodical court soon.
The 23-year-old suspect who was charged with the murder of her boyfriend, will also appear in the same court.
Provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has welcomed the arrest of the nine suspects.
“Police will continue to deal decisively with community members who resort to acts of vigilantism and taking the law into their own hands,” she said.
Police investigations are continuing with more arrests expected.
Pretoria News