Archive photo for illustration purposes only. (Photo: Andri Tambunan / AFP)
A 24-year-old man was arrested after four family members were butchered with an ax in the France settlement near Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape on Thursday.
The oldest victim is 69 years old and the youngest just five.
The police identified them as Nomantombi Nobanda (69), Thembinkosi Nobanda (42), Nomhayaya Phatekile (38) and Olwande Phatekile (5).
According to Brig. Tembinkosi Kinana, police spokesperson, the suspect is also a family member of the victims.
“A preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect was in his room in the same house as the victims. He apparently went to the other room where the victims were sitting and attacked them with an axe. All the victims died at the scene,” Kinana said.
Other residents called the police, among them an eyewitness to the events who escaped during the attack. The person is unharmed.
“The motive for the murders is still unknown. The police have already started a murder investigation. The suspect was arrested shortly after the incident in the same settlement and the police seized the ax that was suspected to have been used in the murders.”
The suspect was expected to appear in the Lusikisiki Magistrate’s Court today (Friday).
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