Five killed following vigilante kidnappings

Five people have been killed in separate vigilante attacks in Mpumalanga.

In the latest attack‚ which occurred in eMalahleni’s (Witbank’s) Vosman township‚ the bodies of three men‚ accused of being behind a spate of minibus taxi hijackings, were found dumped in taxi rank offices.

Police said the men‚ who were found on Friday‚ were abducted on Thursday and taken to a house where they were beaten, then forced to drink acid.

The murders follow the discovery of the bodies of two men in Mbombela (Nelspruit) on Monday by passersby.

They were beaten to death after being accused of being behind a spate of robberies in the town’s Pienaar suburb, then dumped on the roadside.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlati said police were searching for the killers of all five men.

He said the Vosman victims‚ who were among four people abducted on Thursday‚ were found on Friday after police received information on where they were being held.

“Officers [learnt] that they had been assaulted after [being] accused of hijacking taxis in and around Vosman.”

He said when police arrived at the house where they were being held‚ their captors sneaked them out and took them to a nearby taxi rank.

At the taxi rank, “three of them were dead. They had all been beaten and allegedly made to drink acid.

“The fourth victim was taken to hospital.”

Hlati said officers were investigating cases of kidnapping‚ murder‚ attempted murder and assault with the intent to commit grievous bodily harm. –