In South Africa, angry mob has set alight property, including a house belonging to a man they accused of hacking to death a young couple with a panga.

Yesterday, this publication shared a story involving a young couple who were found hacked to death as their 12-old-month baby sits aside the corpses.

The incident happened in GaRapitsi-Itireleng, outside Modjadjiskloof.

Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said the residents  accused the 47-year-old man of being responsible for the brutal murder of  Nius Malatjie, aged 21 and his 18-year-old girlfriend Lucia Malapane whose bodies were found in their house with multiple wounds on Tuesday.

Lucia Malapane and her 21-year-old husband were found hacked to death

The man, a neighbour of the slain couple, was one of the first people to arrive after a call for help from Nius’s aunt Mokgadi Malatji.

Malatji made the gruesome discovery when she went for a routine visit at the couple’s house.

According to Mojapelo, community members were angry that the neighbour had called the police instead of alerting community members first.

“It is alleged a group of residents from this village torched the victim’s shop and one motor vehicle. They proceeded to his house, burned it and in the process, killed some livestock including chickens, goats and pigs. The suspects then fled the scene,” Mojapelo said.

He added that everything  in the house was destroyed in the blaze and the value of the damage is estimated at more than a million rand.

Cases of arson and malicious damage to property have been opened.

Mojapelo said police investigations in both incidents are ongoing.