RESIDENTS of Mhlunzi in Mpumalanga attacked and looted the shops of foreigners on Wednesday after the body of a woman was found dumped near a tavern.
The community claims the woman was murdered at a different place and her body dumped at the spot where she was found.
Witnesses told Daily Sun it appeared that she had been burnt with a hot plate and stabbed. Her head was reportedly covered with a plastic bag and her body wrapped in a blanket.
Mpumalanga police spokesman, Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, said their investigations led them to Tshwane in Gauteng where they arrested a 26-year-old suspect.
“The victim has not yet been identified. Police urge anyone who might have lost a family member, a woman in her late twenties, to come forward,” said Hlathi.
Residents blamed foreigners for the murder.
“We don’t want them here. We don’t feel safe in our own country,” they said.
Hlathi said the suspect would appear in the Middelburg Magistrates Court on a charge of murder soon.
People who might have any information regarding the incident should contact Detective-Constable John Phoku at 072 216 7505 or call the police’s CrimeStop number, 08600 10111.
