Angry villagers at Phiphidi went on the rampage last Saturday, barricading the main road from Nzhelele at a crossroad junction between Duthuni and Phiphidi and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

The protestors, who put rocks and old car scraps in the road, also looted and burnt a tavern belonging to a local man. They attempted to bomb a house owned by the businessman, but luckily it did not explode.

Police helped the family remove the remaining stock of liquor from the tavern. Around the tavern, many youngsters, most of whom were visibly intoxicated, were seen milling around the area. Two drunken young men were involved in a streetfight. Some others joined in and it seemed that things would get more out of hand, but everything quietened down.

The residents accuse the local businessman of orchestrating murders in the area and claim that all the murders and rapes that had taken place in the village had been planned at the tavern. The latest murder was that of 27-year-old Jabulani Raphalalani, whose naked body was found in a local tea plantation last week Saturday.

The body was allegedly found in a pool of blood by two foreign nationals who were going to do piece jobs in the morning. Two men have since  been arrested in connection with the murders, but police say that they could not link the murder to the businessman as there was no evidence to that effect. In recent times, the community of Duthuni outside Thohoyandou has experienced vicious attacks on women which have left them seriously injured. Presently, there is one young woman who is recuperating after being attacked by the unknown attacker or attackers.

This did not go down well with residents, who claim that there is a trend which they blame on individuals in the village. Raphalalani was buried over the weekend. Thohoyandou police spokesperson Major Mashudu Malelo confirmed the incident, but warned residents against taking the law into their own hands.

"We are making an appeal to the community out there that if they have anything that they do not understand, they should inform us," he said. No arrests have been made in connection with the public violence and arson.