Four people have been found burned beyond recognition in Dunoon, Cape Town, in a case police are investigating as murder.
The bodies were discovered on Sunday in an open field next to the N7 off-ramp on Malibongwe Drive.
Milnerton police responded to the scene and found the remains of four people.
Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said investigators determined that tyres had been used to set the victims alight.
Police open murder investigation
Potelwa said the circumstances surrounding the killings remained unclear and the motive had not yet been established.
A murder docket has been opened, with detectives from the serious violent crime unit investigating the case.
The identities of the four victims had also not yet been confirmed because the bodies were burned beyond recognition.
Dunoon ward councillor Bulelwa Mayende said residents believe the killings could be linked to allegations of gang rape in the area.
Mayende said reports of women being targeted by unknown men had circulated in the community since June.
She alleged that residents may have taken matters into their own hands after becoming frustrated with crime.
However, Mayende stressed that she could not confirm whether the four victims were connected to the alleged gang rapes.
She said authorities would need to establish the identities of the victims and determine what happened.
Policing resources questioned
Mayende also criticised policing levels in Dunoon, saying limited resources had contributed to frustration within the community.
She claimed Milnerton SAPS had only one van available to service Dunoon when she contacted police after a separate shooting on Saturday.
The councillor said some crimes appeared to take place around police shift-change periods when resources were stretched.
Police did not confirm the councillor’s claims linking the killings to alleged gang rape suspects.
When asked about Mayende’s comments, provincial police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk referred back to Potelwa’s initial statement.
Police have therefore not established a motive, and the alleged link between the murders and the reported gang rape incidents remains unconfirmed.