SOUTH AFRICA – Two suspects who supposedly pretended to be soldiers have been arrested after they raped and brutally killed a 74-year-old Pietermaritzburg woman in South Africa.

The pair, aged 24 and 27, are said to be involved in the rape of a 20-year-old lady on the same night.

They are supposed to appear in the Pietermaritzburg magistrate’s court soon.

Police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele said the dreadful attack happened at the elderly woman’s home in Sweetwaters, where her lifeless body was found.

“She was allegedly raped and strangled to death,” said Mbele

“Provincial Organised Crime Unit detectives were assigned to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to book.”

“A 27-year-old suspect was arrested at his home in KwaShange in Pietermaritzburg.”

The 24-year-old was tracked down to Durban’s Point area.

“Intensive police investigation has linked the suspects to the rape of a 20-year-old female, who was attacked on the same night.”

“The suspects will also be charged for another rape. They will also be profiled to determine if they can be linked to other pending cases in the province,” said Mbele.

KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula welcomed the arrests and disapproved of the attack of an old woman, which he said: “brought severe anguish to the family and neighbors”.