A 31-year-old man from the Mothotlung township just outside Brits in the North West Province was brutally murdered in a mob justice incident on Thursday.
Police spokesperson Colonel Adéle Myburgh says it is alleged that the man went to fetch his niece and nephew, aged six and four, from their home on Wednesday evening with the offer to go and buy them some food.
She says when the cousins did not return home, the mom reported them missing.
Colonel Myburg says a search for the children and their uncle continued throughout the night.
She says it is alleged that community members found the uncle and interrogated him until he led them to the children's bodies.
They were found in the bushes near a church with their throats slit.
Colonel Myburg says it is alleged that the community took the law into their own hands and killed the man before setting him alight.
Three cases of murder are under investigation.
