The police in Mpumalanga have launched a manhunt for six suspects who allegedly abducted a man and chopped off his hands. The man was walking on the road in the early hours of Wednesday in Vosman near Emalahleni.

According to the police, the 30-year-old man was accosted by the suspects who were driving in a green Opel Corsa bakkie which appeared behind him. Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said that the victim was walking on the Kroomdraai Road towards Extension 16 when the suspects pointed him with a firearm, grabbed and forced him into the bakkie where they tied both his hands and legs. "The suspects somehow communicated the message to him that they were going to kill him and according to the victim, that was the only thing he could hear from them," Mdhluli said. He added that the suspects drove him into the bushes, removed him from the vehicle and put rubber bands around his arms before hacking his hands off.

Mdhluli said the suspects then took their victim's hands and drove off, leaving him for dead. "They took both his hands and fled, leaving him behind in despair," he said. Mdhluli further said that the victim suffered excruciating pain and bled profusely however, the security officers came to his aid. "Police as well as medical personnel were also summoned to the scene and the victim was taken for medical treatment. He is currently admitted in hospital and the police opened a case of attempted murder and are in pursuit of the suspects," Mdhluli added. "Apart from this investigation, Police seized the opportunity to sensitive the public about unscrupulous individuals whose actions can only be described as evil," he said. Hlathi said police have condemned this brutal attack and have urged the community to be wary of evil and unscrupulous individuals, who might have committed this heinous crime to obtain human body parts for dark rituals, or as a misguided display of mob justice.