WATCH | Man accused of child's rape, murder allegedly killed by Mdantsane community

A man accused of raping and killing six-year-old Ayabukwa “Nhathi” Mhlahlo, who was brutally raped and murdered in Mdantsane last week, was beaten and killed by a mob of angry people at the weekend, according to police.

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Khaya Tonjeni said a group of community members from Zone 8 allegedly beat the man, believed to be in his 20s, to death.

“Senior police management in the Eastern Cape have strongly condemned acts of vigilantism which led to the murder of a man in Mdantsane.

“It is alleged that on Friday evening, a group of community members from NU8 chased, assaulted and murdered a man they alleged to be behind the murder of a six-year-old girl whose lifeless body was found on the roadside.”

Tonjeni said a case or murder has been opened. “Police are following strong leads and no arrest has been made as yet.”

A person who identified himself as the dead man’s cousin told DispatchLIVE on Saturday night that he “got what he deserved”.

“What happened was bad and sad. These people are our relatives. I do not have the full story, he got what he deserved.”

DispatchLIVE