Shelter: Violet Maliwa and her husband opened their home to women who live alone. Photos: Delwyn Verasamy

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Six men accused in the murders of 11 older people from Zingqolweni village in Cacadu in the Eastern Cape have been arrested, months after the chain of deaths stoked fears of a serial killer.

On average, one victim was robbed and killed almost every month between 1 December 2020 and July last year, leading to the area being named “the village of death”. The arrests come after several reports of house-breaking incidents last month.

According to a villager who asked not to be named, one of the suspects was arrested for the house breakings and later confessed that he and five other men were behind the murders that left older women in the village traumatised, with some fleeing for their lives.