Vigilantes burn 3 to death
2006-08-10 10:58
Johannesburg - Three men have been burnt to death by vigilantes in the Kabokweni area near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga police said on Thursday.
Superintendent Benjamin Mtsholi Bhembe said police received an anonymous call early on Wednesday morning that three men had been killed in the area.
"We found them lying next to each other with their hands tied behind their backs with wire and rope. It appears they were assaulted before they were burned as there was a lot of blood around them."
Police on the scene found a fridge which had been stolen in July, and a 9mm pistol with six live rounds.
The dead men - Frans Maluka, Eric Sambo and Patrick Sigudla - were allegedly linked to criminal activities around the area. They were all under the age of 30.
Police were tracing the people involved and three counts of murder would be investigated.
"People think the wheels of justice are moving slowly. Justice takes time and we plead with people to not take the law into their own hands," Bhembe said.
- SAPA