The community is in a state of shock after a grisly double murder in Hlobane near Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal last week.

Two men were murdered in the Mkhuphane area of Hlobane and their bodies found in an open field. The Hlobane SAPS station commander received a tip-off about the murders and dispatched officers to the scene.

The brother of one of the deceased pointed out the crime scene to police officers and said he had been directed there by a person who was last seen with one of the victims.

The two bodies had sustained deep wounds to the head, which indicates that a sharp object was used to bludgeon them to death.

One of the victims was lying face down wearing a white and blue T-shirt, navy jacket and blue trousers. It is alleged that one of the victims is from eMondlo, while the other is from Pongola.

Stock theft is believed to be the motive behind the murders, but this has not been confirmed.