A Zimbabwean woman was wrongly accused of killing a young boy and lynched by an angry mob in a shanty town near the South African capital, Pretoria. The woman was burnt alive while another man, also from Zimbabwe, managed to escape after police officers intervened.
“The woman died when she was burnt alive by a mob [while] the man was rescued by police and taken to hospital,” local police spokeswoman Katlego Mogale told Agence France-Presse.
“He was discharged Monday night,” she added.
The incident took place Friday near Pretoria after several days of tensions, which were sparked by the death of an eight-year-old boy. The Zimbabwean pair had been accused of killing the boy through witchcraft. A probe revealed that the boy had been electrocuted.
Three people were arrested over the woman’s murder, but they currently face only charges of public violence, because “there were 500 people and more evidence is needed” to accuse the trio of lynching the victim, Mogale said.
Police reinforcements were sent to Laudium after an angry crowd attacked the local police station Sunday night, demanding the release of the three suspects.
