Thirteen residents of Chavani village, who were arrested for allegedly stoning Mr Calvin Mukwevho to death a fortnight ago, are now out on bail.

They all appeared in the Waterval Regional Court and were released on bail of R1 000 each.

The 35-year-old Mr Mukwevho was allegedly stoned to death by members of the community, who accused him of killing Mr Joseph Chavani (55). This comes after Chavani was found dead at his house in the village three weeks ago. It is said that residents were furnished with the information of what had happened and who the suspect was. They allegedly decided to take the law into their own hands, claiming that the police were doing nothing to solve the crime.

They allegedly tied Mukwevho's hands together with a rope and stoned him to death. Mukwevho was a resident of Mbhokota village.

The case was postponed to 12 December.

The court was packed to capacity during the court proceedings. Chavani residents, who came in numbers, demanded that the accused be given bail. Mukwevho's sister, Tshiwela, said that she suspected something was wrong because her family was not consulted or told about the court date. "We did not know that the accused were appearing in court today. This is shocking news to us as the family. We should have been told about the court date," she said.