The bodies of five men, suspected of robbery and rape, were discovered hacked to death in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, on Friday morning.
A bus passenger traveling along Curnick Ndlovu Highway (M25) alerted the RUSA Phoenix Operations Centre at around 06:40 after spotting three bodies near Inanda Newtown Comprehensive High School. Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) officers and paramedics responded to the scene, where they found the men brutally killed, with one sustaining a partial hand amputation and another suffering a crushed skull.
Authorities were later directed to another site, approximately 150 meters away, where two more bodies were discovered in a nearby field, also showing signs of severe assault.
According to local residents, the deceased were known criminals allegedly involved in robberies, drug-related activities, and the rape of multiple schoolgirls. It is believed that community members, frustrated by ongoing crime, tracked them down and carried out the killings on Thursday night.
Police are investigating the incident, while authorities have urged the public not to take the law into their own hands.