Three men briefly appeared in the Vuwani Magistrate's Court on Monday, following the murder of Mr Nthambeleni Daniel Mudau (55). Mudau’s blood-soaked body was discovered at the gate of a well-nown tavern at Tsianda village in the Mashamba area on 15 May this year.

According to the spokesperson of the Levubu Police, W/O Solly Mukhola, the suspects are residents of Tsianda. They were arrested last Friday.

Nthabeleni Sikhorobo (35), Mulalo Rammese (22) and Colbert Rammese (31) were not asked to plead. The case was postponed to 8 June. They will stay in custody until their next court date. Mukhola revealed that the arrest was the result of the sound relationship between the police and the local residents.

He further stated that the police started to receive positive information from concerned residents from the day of murder. Mudau’s murder is a matter of great concern to the local residents. That became evident when several meetings were held by residents at the local tribal office premises. One of the meetings held on Sunday, 15 May, was characterized by emotional utterances, with residents threatening to take the law into their own hands.

At the meeting residents pointed out that they had lost trust in the police services. They cited an incident where local resident Matimba Emmanuel Tshikalange, who was arrested for murder towards the end of last year, escaped from police custody in January.

A local traditional leader, Thovhele Vho-Pfuluwani Netsianda, addressed the residents during the meeting. He appealed to them to be calm and furnish the police with the information that would lead to the arrest of Mudau’s killers.