A 79-year-old man identified as the household head of the Mbube family was brutally killed in an alleged mob justice attack in Libode, Eastern Cape, with his home subsequently set alight in broad daylight, displacing more than 20 family members, including children.
The attack is understood to stem from allegations that the elderly man was hiding or protecting a suspect linked to the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in the same area. Community members reportedly stormed the homestead, assaulted the man with sticks, stones, and a bushknife, shot him, and then torched the property, destroying belongings and leaving the family homeless.
Family spokesperson Noluvo Mbube described the harrowing sequence of events: a group of people arrived demanding to see two grandsons who had reportedly been arrested in connection with an alleged rape and later released for further investigation. When they gained entry, they pushed the 79-year-old man out of the house, assaulted him in front of the gate, and hacked him to death. Realising he was dead, the attackers then set fire to the houses. “As I am speaking to you we do not have a shelter, we do not have a home and we are living outside the torched houses,” Noluvo Mbube said, adding that the family now fears for their lives and is scrambling to survive with whatever little was salvaged from the blaze.
A resident interviewed in the area addressed the incident and the allegations surrounding the 15-year-old girl’s death. He reiterated aspects of the community’s account while absolving himself of direct involvement in the mob action, amid claims from the victim’s family that he had participated.
Eastern Cape Police Spokesperson Nobuntu Gantana confirmed that police have launched a manhunt for the suspects involved in the murder. She stated that the attackers assaulted the elderly man with wooden sticks and a bushknife before shooting him with a firearm. “Police in the Eastern Cape have launched a manhunt following the brutal murder of a 79-year-old man,” Gantana said. An investigation is ongoing to establish the full facts of the matter, including any links to the prior rape and murder case.
No arrests have yet been reported in connection with the vigilante attack, though police continue to appeal for community assistance.
The incident has once again highlighted concerns over rampant vigilantism in areas plagued by high crime rates, where residents often express frustration with unsolved cases and perceived failures in the formal justice system. The South African Police Service has emphasised that such mob actions undermine the rule of law and that investigations into both the girl’s murder and the elderly man’s killing remain active.
The Mbube family is now left to pick up the pieces, homeless and traumatised, as authorities work to bring those responsible to justice.
