In one of the shocking incidents to have happened over the weekend at Tshivhulani outside Sibasa, a man was stabbed to death in what is believed to be robbery.
In a strange turn of events, one man was killed and another injured to avenge the robbery victim, in what seemed to be a mob-justice incident.
The first man to be killed was identified as Zimbabwean national Mr Mutshineripi Shoko (30), who was found lying in a pool of blood at the gate of a local house at Tshivhulani Malili. The incident happened on Friday (3rd) at around 19:30.
The circumstances leading to the killing were still sketchy and a veil of secrecy shrouded the village, with residents speaking in low tones about the incident. What this paper gathered in the village is that the victim had been enjoying drinks with friends at a local tavern. Some of the patrons at the tavern allegedly noticed that he had money and apparently followed him when he left the tavern.
While he was leaving, he was attacked, stabbed and robbed of his cash. He allegedly managed to run away from the scene but fell down at the gate of a local resident's house, where his body was spotted by a passer-by, who alerted the owner of the house.
The police arrived at the scene and the deceased was found to have two deep stab wounds on his back and another one on his left shoulder.
The suspects who had allegedly killed the victim were identified and, filled with anger and grief, a group of unknown people went searching for them the next day. When the group found them, they allegedly took the law into their own hands, beating the two men and later burning them.
The police found one of the two men still alive, while the other was already dead.
The two men were both Zimbabweans. One of them, identified only as Johnson and aged around 30 years, had passed away, while his alleged accomplice, identified as Mr Hardlife Chitiyo (30), was rescued from the flames by the police.
Vhembe police's acting spokesperson, Sgt Vuledzani Dathi, confirmed the incidents and said two charges of murder and one of attempted murder had been opened. He said investigations were ongoing and that no suspects had been arrested so far.