Hawks arrest two for family massacre
Two people have been arrested for the murder of eight members of a KZN family they allegedly accused of withcraft.
|||Johannesburg – Two people were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the murder of eight family members in Msinsini village, just outside Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal, the Hawks said.
“The suspects allegedly accused the family members of practising witchcraft. The arrested suspects were found in possession of blood-stained clothes and shoes,” Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
“A jacket, which was worn by one of the suspects, was found shoved inside a pit toilet. Suspects, aged 26 and 28, will appear before the Turton Magistrate’s Court on Friday, facing charges of murder.”
Shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning, seven family members were asleep in one house and another in the adjacent hut when a group of men allegedly entered their yard, he said.
Mulaudzi said the suspects hacked the seven victims to death with sharp objects inside the house and proceeded to the hut where they murdered a 70-year-old man and set the hut alight.
The victims, four women aged between 15 and 60, three toddlers aged between one and three, and the man, who was found burnt beyond recognition, died at the scene, he said.
One survivor was taken to hospital with severe head injuries.
Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service Lieutenant General Kgomotso Phahlane praised the multi-disciplinary task team led by the Hawks for the swift arrests.
Phahlane wished the survivor a speedy recovery and vowed that the police would not rest until all suspects were brought to book.
“We convey our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and also assure them that we will dig deep in our quest to bring justice. We thank the Hawks, our K9 unit, the Forensic team as well as the local police for gathering all the evidence which led to the arrest of the suspects,” said Phahlane.
ANA
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