Outrage over brutal murders in Johannesburg

posted in: Africa

Photo: Rob Handfield – Jones

PANA

Cape Town, South Africa – An uneasy calm has returned to Diepsloot, a sprawling settlement in South Africa’s city of Johannesburg, 24 hours after the murders of two female cousins aged two and three, whose bodies were found in a public toilet.

On Wednesday morning, police confirmed that three people have been taken in for questioning in connection with the crime, which has rocked the community.

A search is also underway for a fourth suspect and police are investigating a possible link between the murders of other young girls in the area.

On Tuesday night, angry residents took to the streets and blocked roads in the township, causing the authorities to deploy a large contingent of policemen to restore calm.

In another reported incident, the body of a little boy was found in a field in Katlehong on the East Rand, with evidence of torture and abuse before he met his cruel death.

President Jacob Zuma has expressed his shock and dismay at both incidents.

“These gruesome incidents of extreme torture and murder of our children do not belong to the society that we are continuously striving to build together. We condemn these murders in the strongest possible terms.

”Whilst we appeal to the communities not to take the matters into their hands, we also want to urge them to work with law enforcement authorities to find the perpetrators and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” Zuma said.



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