Angry residents torch houses in Maepa

OHRIGSTAD – The 10 suspects from Maepa Village accused of arson, public violence and malicious damage to property will appear in the Praktiseer Magistrate’s Court on November 13. The men were arrested after they allegedly torched three houses and a car belonging to the Mabelane family on September 26.

The suspects accused the Mabelane family of being implicated in the death of cowherd Samuel Riba (28), whose body was found in the veld near the village. Riba’s decomposed body was found by community members on August 4.

After the gruesome discovery, the residents vowed to find his murderers. According to the villagers, since his death community meetings were organised to try and find out who the killers were.

“We approached sangomas who pointed at some families who might be implicated in the death of Riba,” said one of the residents.

The community wanted the alleged culprits to flee the village. When the families did not leave the village, three houses were torched by the residents. A member of the Mabelane family said his house was burned, but they did not know anything about the death of the man.

“We were shocked when hundreds of community members burnt our belongings. We can’t afford to leave this village as we have invested a lot in Maepa. We have our livestock and a borehole in this village and we cannot move.”

The family said they are living in fear of being attacked again. Ohrigstad SAPS’s Sgt Kholofelo Phokane confirmed that the accused were arrested on September 28. They were all granted a R1 000 bail. He indicated that they are still hard at work investigating the matter.