A close relative and neighbour of five family members from the Mgodini area in Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, have been charged with murder following a brutal discovery last week.

The duo, Sphesihle Xulu (24) and Philani Shezi (39), were arrested last week and appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

They were arrested in connection with the murders of three children: 11-year-old twins Ayanda and Anele Gumede and their younger sister Ziyanda (9), their mother Fikile Patricia Gumede (45) and their grandmother Mildred Thokozile Gumede (85). They were hacked to death with an axe and one of the twins had her throat cut.

Read the full story on The Witness.