He allegedly assaulted and hacked his girlfriend with a machete before slitting her throat with a knife before fleeing to another village. But on Sunday night, some community members in Mkhuhlu, Mpumalanga recognised the man from pictures circulating on social media. He was the man fingered in killing his girlfriend Khanyisile Ngobeni in July. The suspected murderer, Clive Khosa from Hluvukani village was apprehended by the community.

MOB JUSTICE

It is alleged that the angry community members surrounded Khosa and called villagers from Utah to come to collect him. The local police got wind of the capture from a local community leader and rushed to the scene where he was already being assaulted by the community. A community leader, who did not want to be named told ZiMoja, that the local Calcutta police dispatched all available resources in their attempt to save Khosa. "When they reached the area where Khosa was being tortured, they found him gone with some of the mob in two cars believed to be from Hluvukani. The police from Mkhuhlu asked their counterparts from Mhala police station to try and locate the vehicles of the alleged kidnappers," said the community leader.

KILLED BY THE MOB

The community leader further said that the Mhala police also dispatched all available resources and posted themselves in strategic positions in a bid to find Khosa alive. "Members of the community were gathered at a local sports field with tyres, petrol, stones, and other weapons waiting for Khosa’s arrival from Mkhuhlu. When the vehicles with Khosa eventually arrived in Utah, the police were already there. Hell broke loose as the police attempted to rescue him from the angry mob. Suddenly loadshedding came into effect and Khosa’s luck ran out immediately," he said. It is alleged that Khosa was taken to another village where he was assaulted to death. A few days ago the community went to the house where Khosa stayed at Hluvukani and set it on fire together with his bakkie as revenge for the murder of Ngobeni.

POLICE CONFIRM THE INCIDENT

Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala confirmed the incident. Mohlala said the key witness in the murder case that was reported on Sunday 30 July 2023 whereby a female victim was found murdered next to a church in Hluvukani was also found murdered in Utah grazing camp. "It is alleged that the witness’ life was cut short by an unknown number of suspects who abducted him from Calcutta. The police followed information that led them to a Utah grazing camp where the lifeless body of the witness was found with hands, feet, and neck tied with wires. His body is covered with bruises," Mohlala said, adding that the attack came shortly after the victim’s family house and his car was set on fire by an angry mob. Police in Mpumalanga further warned community members not to take the law into their hands and report wanted people to the authorities as their actions hampered police investigation.