Three people were stoned to death for the alleged kidnapping, killing of an eight-year-old girl, Nomsa Sambo, and dumping her corpse in a pit toilet at Senotlelo in Vaalbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brig Selvy Mohlala, said, Nomsa went missing and her family reported her as missing at the Vaalbank police station on February 12.
According to local media outlets, Mohala said a man was seen carrying Nomsa to his house, and she was later found dead in the toilet after being declared missing.
He said, “Thereafter, information emerged about a man who was allegedly seen carrying Nomsa to his house. Police then responded to the information and on Monday, February 13, 2023 they took him for questioning.
“A kidnapping case was opened in that regard. However, the man denied all the allegations. There was insufficient evidence by then to charge him hence he was later released.”
The police spokesman said on Saturday morning, information surfaced that the missing child was inside a pit toilet.
Also, there were three dead bodies retrieved having scars and injuries of being stoned to death, according to the report of the police.
“Police from Vaalbank as well as members from search and rescue team, rushed to the scene and upon arrival they found (the) lifeless bodies of three individuals, two males and one female on the street.
“The bodies reportedly had serious injuries, which suggest that they could have been stoned and the medical personnel came to the scene as well where they were certified dead. Police also discovered that two vehicles, a Ford Bantam as well as a VW Jetta 4 were burnt to ashes,” IOL reports.
The police officer said the child was eventually recovered from the pit toilet and she was pronounced dead.
“The three were since identified as Mr Zele Papo Machika, 53, his female friends, Ms Pauline Maubane, 51, as well as their son, Mr Thabo Maubane, 32. The Police later learnt that the torched vehicles belonged to Thabo Maubane.”
He said the case of kidnapping has since been changed to murder, three counts of murder have been investigated with regard to the three adults that were murdered.
“No one has been arrested so far and police are investigating this horrific incident,” it added.