A 53-year-old man, his partner, 51, and their son, 32, were stoned to death in the village of Senotlelo near Vaalbank in Mpumalanga after the body of a girl was found in a pit toilet on Saturday.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said according to the report, Nomsa Sambo (8) went missing and her family reported her missing at the local Vaalbank police station last Sunday.
He said he had information about a man who allegedly took the child to his home.
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Mohlala said the police then responded to the information and on Monday, the man was brought in for questioning and a case of kidnapping was opened.
“However, the man denied all the charges. There was not enough evidence to prosecute him, so he was later released,” he said.
Death and destruction
On Saturday morning, Mohlala said, information emerged that the missing child was inside a pit toilet at the suspect’s house.
He said Vaalbank police as well as members of the Search and Rescue team rushed to the scene and when they arrived, they found three lifeless bodies, two men and one woman on the road.
Mohlala said the body had serious injuries that indicated it may have been stoned and medical personnel who responded to the scene issued a death certificate.
He said police also discovered that two vehicles, a Ford Bantam and a VW Jetta 4 were burnt to ashes.
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“The child was eventually taken from the pit toilet and unfortunately was certified dead as well,” said Mohlala.
The three who died have been identified as Zele Papo Machika, Pauline Maubane and Thabo Maubane’s son.
He said that the Police later found out that the vehicle that was set on fire belonged to his son.
Top level probe
Mohlala said the case of kidnapping initially opened has been changed to murder, while three counts of murder have been investigated in relation to the three adults who were killed.
He said no arrests have been made so far and the police are investigating the horrific incident.
Mohlala said an investigative team led by provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela has been assembled to investigate the incident.
“This country is governed by the law and the situation of mob justice where people take the law into their own hands is not acceptable or allowed, so we encourage the community to work with the police if they have information about a crime instead of trying to take revenge. ourselves. We have long sentences- the age imposed on the perpetrators of violent crimes. That is why the people must allow the hand of the state to operate,” said Manamela.
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