Mthatha police have urged hosts of traditional ceremonies to end festivities by 6pm after three murders over the weekend.
Two of the killings took place in Ngqeleni and one in Mthatha.
A woman of 52 may have been raped before she was killed and her house torched.
She was still inside the home at the time. The unknown perpetrator is still at large and police have urged anyone with information that may lead to an arrest, prosecution and conviction to report it.
The incident took place in Qhokoma in Ngqeleni on Sunday evening.
In another incident on Saturday, a taxi driver was killed in a hail of nine bullets as he was parking outside a block of flats at Lujecweni village in Ngqeleni.
The shooting happened just hours before a youth, 24, was killed in Mandela Park in Mthatha by an angry mob who suspected him of rape.
Police blamed the rape and murder and mob justice incidents on widespread traditional ceremonies currently being held to mark the festive season and homecoming of initiates.
Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said:
“We would like to urge hosts of these ceremonies to practise extra vigilance and end their parties before 6pm. Evidence shows that in most of these cases, it is revellers at the parties that commit the crimes,” he added.
Fatyela said the taxi driver, 34, was a member of Border Alliance Taxi Association. The Eastern Cape task team formed to investigate taxi industry killings was investigating the incident, he said.
“A case of murder has been opened but at this present moment we cannot conclude that it was a taxi industry related killing,” Fatyela said.
The suspect is still at large.
In the mob killing incident in Mandela Park, Fatyela said, the youth – who was from Slovo Park – was allegedly attempting to rape a 50-year-old woman who home he had broken into at about 1.30am.
A crowd of neighbours chased him down and beat him to death.
“We strongly condemn vigilantism in the strongest terms. People should not take the law in their own hands but should report crime.
“People must come forward and work together with the police to end the scourge of crime,” Fatyela said.
“We want criminals alive. We don’t want corpses,” he said.
Fatyela did not comment on whether police had any leads in the Qhokama murder and possible rape yet. — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za