Durban — A woman, her mother and her two children were killed and their home set alight in Mtubatuba in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said police at KwaMsane received a report that four people were killed at KwaMtholo.
“On arrival, police found a house that was torched with the deceased still inside,” Naicker said.
“According to a survivor, at around midnight a knock was heard on the door and a suspect was spotted with a firearm in his hand. Shortly afterwards the witness heard gunshots being fired in the house. Two women and two children were sleeping in the house. The suspects torched the house before fleeing through the window.”
The deceased were identified as Thembelihle Dlamini, 60, Nokuthula Dlamini, 42, Sanele Dlamini, 7, and Alondwe Khanyile, aged 3 months.
Naicker said the motive for the killings is not known at this stage.
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said: “A dedicated task team consisting of police officers from the district and province has been tasked to investigate these brutal murders and bring the perpetrators to book. We will not rest until the suspects are traced and arrested.”
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sihle Zikalala said Nokuthula Dlamini was an employee at the department and worked as a community development worker in ward 16 in Mtubatuba Local Municipality, northern KZN.
Zikakala said the department was devastated and saddened by Dlamini’s murder.
“The fact that they had already taken the lives of the victims was not enough for these heartless individuals, who have the audacity to murder women and children; they went on to torch their victims’ dwelling,” Zikalala said.
He called on law enforcement agencies to take the fight against such crimes “to the next level”.
Zikalala said they appealed for co-operation among all agencies to bring such crimes to a complete stop as they want women and children to feel safe in the province.
“These barbaric and inhumane acts of utmost violence have no place in our society. September is Heritage Month, and in our African culture even during a war, protecting our women and children remained sacrosanct! This cowardice is foreign to us,” he added.
Zikalala called upon law enforcement agencies to collaborate and leave no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators of these heinous acts to book.
“We also appeal to our communities to come forward with information that will assist law enforcement agencies to apprehend the criminals,” he said.
Daily News