Acting Provincial Commissioner condemns the attack on an elderly couple in Mountain Rise
KwaZulu-Natal: On Thursday morning, 6 April 2017, the Mountain Rise detectives followed up information about the suspects involved in the murder of Adeline Mohlakoana (78) and injuring of her partner. The suspects aged between 28 and 39 were arrested at Masons informal settlement, Copesville. They appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
On 2 April 2017, the police attended a scene in Masons informal settlement where it was alleged that the person was allegedly in possession of a human hand. The evidence was taken to the mortuary and examined and was found not to be human tissue. In the interim, a 78-year-old Adeline Mohlakoana was murdered and her 65-year-old parner was also attacked by the community suspecting them of allegedly practicing witchcraft in the area. Their house was also burnt during the attack. He was taken to hospital due to the injuries sustained while the woman died at the scene. Charges of murder, attempted murder and arson were opened for investigation at Mountain Rise SAPS.
The KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Bheki Langa condemned the attack on elderly people. He commended the members for the swift arrest of the suspects. “We are appealing to the community members not to take the law into their own hands but rather let the law take its course,” he said.