Gruesome killings have become a norm for the community of Bityi near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
In the latest development, four people including a tavern owner have been arrested following the murder of two people in the rural area.
Police officers said the murders took place at the weekend.
The officers were investigating a case of a missing person when investigations led them to a local tavern owner who pointed the detectives to a place where the bodies were found.
It is alleged that the deceased stole from a local tavern two days before they were found dead.
“The tavern owner took the investigating team to the dongas in Nqwathi location. They found burnt bodies of two males aged 28 and 30,” according to police.
“Their identities are known, however, will be released on completion of the identification process.”
The four suspects who were arrested on Sunday, aged between 28 and 65, are expected to appear in the Bityi magistrate’s court on Monday on two counts of murder.
In February, seven people were gunned down in the same area after unknown gunmen opened fire on a group of people inside a rondavel. Four men and three women were killed.
Police said an investigation into the killings continues.
The mass murder came a few months after the massacre of seven family members in the same area in November 2022. They were killed while preparing to bury a loved one.
Meanwhile, police at Siloam in Limpopo are investigating a case of murder after the discovery of the body of a man next to a tavern in Mandala village early on Sunday.
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the officers were dispatched to the crime scene after they were alerted by community members.
“Upon arrival, we found a man’s body laying on the street with an open wound on his head,” said Ledwaba.
“He was declared deceased on the scene by the paramedics and the motive for the attack is not yet known.
“The deceased, aged 28, was later identified by the next of kin and his identity will be released at a later stage.”
Police commissioner in Limpopo, Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe, condemned the murder and appealed to people who might have the information that can lead to the arrest of perpetrator(s) to come forward.
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