Two men, charged with the murder of three Coptic Orthodox Church monks in South Africa, appeared in court on Thursday and will be held in custody until their next scheduled hearing, the media reported Thursday.
The case was reportedly adjourned until March 27 so that the two can obtain an Arabic translator and legal counsel.
The suspects are Saeed Basanda and Samuel Avamarkos, a 37-year-old Egyptian national and a 47-year-old South African citizen, respectively, according to the media. They both listed their addresses at the same location in the small town of Cullinan, where this week's murders occurred.
The two individuals were apprehended following the murder of the monks on Tuesday at the Saint Mark Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Cullinan located to the east of the capital of Pretoria, the report said, citing the authorities. Moreover, a fourth person was assaulted with an iron rod but managed to escape to safety.
“Three victims were found with stab wounds while the fourth victim that survived alleged that he was hit by an iron rod on his hand before fleeing and hiding in one of the rooms,” South African Police Service reportedly said.
No items, however, were taken during the assault and the reason for the murder remains unclear.
The Coptic Orthodox Church has identified the deceased monks in South Africa as Monk Hegumen Takla El-Samuely, Monk Yostos Ava Markos, and Monk Mina Ava Markos. All three individuals were citizens of Egypt. El-Samuely held the position of deputy in the local diocese.
The church also said that it's closely monitoring the "painful incident" and has sent a delegation of bishops to Johannesburg.
"We are following the situation moment by moment, and there is a delegation of bishops that will travel to South Africa. We have assigned one of our priests who previously served in Africa to travel ahead of the delegation and prepare arrangements," the statement read.
Last week, Rwandan serial killer Denis Kazungu was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday for the crimes of murder and other counts. This verdict was reached after the discovery of many victims buried in a hole located in his kitchen.
The 34-year-old admitted to killing 14 people, including a man he claimed had infected him with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.