Four children burnt to death after the shack they had been sleeping in was allegedly set alight with paraffin by an unknown assailant.
This criminal activity claimed the lives of these four innocent children in Thole Location, Thaba Nchu.
In another horrific incident, two men were burnt to death in Caleb Motshabi, Bloemfontein, in an apparent incident of mob justice.
These gruesome events took place a day apart and have left the affected families in distress.
The horrendous incident in Thaba Nchu reportedly unfolded in the early hours of Friday (03/03), while the incident in Caleb Motshabi took place on Saturday (04/03).
The children in Thaba Nchu died after the shack dwelling had been set alight and the flames that engulfed it could not be extinguished.
One of the eyewitnesses said the fire fighters and the police had arrived too late.
“Nothing could be done to rescue the children, because the flames were too strong,” said the witness.
Miraculously, one person survived the fire: the mother of two of the four children.
“The survivor has been admitted to the Moroka Hospital in Thaba Nchu.
Col. Thandi Mbambo, spokesperson of the Free State police, said according to a preliminary investigation the “unidentified assailant” had used paraffin to set the shack dwelling on fire.
She said the woman who had survived had been sleeping with the four children.
She said the other two children, who were not this women’s own, were the children of the neighbour of the survivor.
“The other two children were sleeping over, as their father was at work and their mother in hospital due to labour,” said Mbambo.
Brig. Motantsi Makhele, provincial police spokesperson, said the burning to death of two men in Caleb Motshabi by angry community members had been sparked by the murder of Solomon Maweni (31), allegedly by five members of a gang terrorising certain black township areas.
He said the victim had died following a brutal stabbing by the five attackers, who had also robbed the victim.
“One of the three suspects that managed to flee from a furious community was arrested, a few hours after the incident. He will be charged with the murder of Solomon Maweni,” said Makhele.
