Three people aged between 23 and 46 briefly appeared at the Greytown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, facing charges of murder of a mother and daughter.

The three are accused of killing Fikile Msimango (65) and her 28-year-old daughter, Nkosi, in Matimatolo, outside Greytown.

The two women were allegedly assaulted by a mob that accused them of witchcraft, before they were set alight in their home last Tuesday.

According to a family member who survived the mob attack, Fikile was assaulted inside the house by a group of mostly women and children, before she was pushed into a bed that had been set on fire.

Nkosi was allegedly thrown inside the burning house through a broken window after the assault.
A family member and five children aged between one and 15, survived.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said reports indicate that the victims were sleeping in the house when the fire started.