The strange case of the black axe-murderer gets stranger

A 33-year-old black rugby player who was once in South Africa's Under-21 team, has been accused in court of murdering three men with an axe, but police denied reports that the killings were triggered by the gang rape and subsequent HIV infection of his daughter. Joseph Ntshongwana, a flanker who played for the Blue Bulls, one of the country's top teams, was charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one of assault with intention to admit grievous bodily harm. One of his victims was decapitated and two others hacked in the neck until they died. A fourth man who narrowly escaped with his life, said that the killer accused him of being in the gang who raped and infected his daughter, triggering an outpouring of public support for the murderer. However, police in Durban said that no case of rape was being investigated in connection with the deaths. It said that authorities had yet to confirm if Ntshongwana even had a daughter. Vincent Mdunge, a police spokesman, said that it was unlikely that revenge was the motive. "We have ruled out completely the element of rape. There has not been any element of rape that is attached to him. He therefore has been killing people out of evil nature," he said. One of his victims has been named as Paulos Hlongwa, 46. Police said the security guard's head was found in a dustbin more than a mile away from his body. Police raided Ntshongwana's home in an upmarket area after a tip-off and found the murder weapon as well as bloodstained clothes from one of the victims. Mdunge said that Ntshongwana could now be identified because he had appeared in court and had been formally charged with the killings. Earlier reports said mistakenly that his identity had been withheld to protect his daughter. The player, who comes from the Eastern Cape province - Nelson Mandela's home and one of the few where blacks prefer rugby to soccer - has listed himself as single in a profile on Facebook. South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world.