The tranquillity of the day was disturbed at Hlanganani Township, near Elim, when a large group of people from the neighbouring village allegedly arrived and torched an RDP house belonging to a rape suspect on Sunday.

This incident came after two Hlanganani Township residents, aged 22 and 23, allegedly went to Njhakanjhaka village and raped two young pupils, who are aged 14 and 16 respectively. The incident enraged the Njhakanjhaka residents who allegedly walked all the way from their village to apprehend the suspects and hand them to the police.

“They found the first suspect at his parents' home and beat him severely,” said an eyewitness and neighbour, who did not wish to be named. “They went to the second suspect, but he was not home. People started smashing windows of his RDP house. Soon I saw smoke rushing out of the windows and knew that the house was on fire.”

According to the eyewitness, the Njhakanjhaka group kept on saying that they had only wanted to arrest the suspects and hand them to the police. “They got angry when they couldn't find the other suspect,” said the witness.

Another neighbour, who saw a crowd carrying sticks and stones along the street and closed herself inside her house, said that the second man was a “very good boy”. “His parents died some time ago,” she said. “He started abusing alcohol and stealing from everyone. He's trouble.”

When Limpopo Mirror visited the Hlanganani Township on Monday, the assaulted suspect's house looked lonely in the yard. There was no sight of any human moving around. The second suspect's belongings, such as bed and blanket, were charred in the fire.

The communications officer at Limpopo Media Centre, Const Tsietsi Lamola, confirmed that two male suspects were arrested and charged for the rape which took place at Njhakanjhaka. “We cannot confirm at this stage whether the suspect's house was burnt or not; we have no record of such an incident,” said Lamola.

Meanwhile the Hlanganani Township's Sanco chairperson, Mr Mkhacachani Ngobeni said that they condemn all forms all crimes. “But our feeling is that what the Njhakanjhaka residents did is not good,” Ngobeni said.

“They cannot just come to our place and assault a suspect and burn his house. There should always be communication between structures existing in both villages if we want to beat crime.”

Lamola said that the two rape suspects finally appeared in the Waterval Magistrate's Court on Tuesday. Their case was postponed to 7 May for further investigations. They remain in custody.