A group of men appeared at the Tshilwavhusiku magistrate’s court in Limpopo on Monday on charges of kidnapping and murder. They were remanded in custody for further investigations.
This after the Vhembe Trio Task Team arrested three suspects in connection with the abduction and killing of two people whose bodies were exhumed at the weekend.
Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe, provincial police commissioner in Limpopo, said the bodies of a man and a woman were located and exhumed in different locations. The deceased were reported missing under mysterious circumstances in February and July 2022, respectively.
“The woman went missing in February 2022 in Makhado policing precinct and was only reported missing earlier this year, while the man was reported missing in July 2022 in Tshilwavhusiku policing area,” said Hadebe.
“It is alleged that the 33-year-old woman left her home in Sekonye village in Botlokwa to visit Louis Trichardt. The investigations, which were conducted by the task team, managed to discover a long-kept secret which revealed that the woman was kidnapped, tortured, killed and buried in a shallow grave.
“This was after she reportedly refused to surrender a property in Makhado, which was initially used as a brothel.
“The task team also received information through crime intelligence operatives about the kidnapping and killing of a 40-year-old man. The man, believed to have been a victim of vigilantism, was reportedly kidnapped from his home in Tshilwavhusiku in July 2022 after he was accused of stealing copper cables.”
Investigations have revealed that the victims were buried in shallow graves at Rathidili and Madodonga villages, respectively. It is alleged that the suspects oversaw a vigilante group in the village and other neighboring areas around Makhado.
Hadebe said two suspects were already in custody for murder and other serious crimes, while the other three were arrested in Mahwelereng at the weekend. The police also recovered a 9mm pistol.
She commended the task team for a job well done. Forensic investigations are under way to make conclusive identification of the victims.
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