Thyolo Police deputy publicist, Rabecca Kashoti has told Zodiak Online on Tuesday that four children have been murdered by their step-fathers while the rest by the mobs and unknown assailants.

Kashoti said last year, eight people were killed the same period.

She has since attributed this to court's unconditional release of some suspected criminals, lack of love for step children and lawlessness.

To reverse the trend, Kashoti said "currently we have intensified awareness campaigns with communities and opinion leaders including conducting patrols."

Meanwhile, Thyolo District National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE Trust) Officer, Moses Kaunda, has described the development as unfortunate, calling on more players to join sensitizations efforts which will help to address social factors and enable local authorities to detect red flags leading to the homicides.

"We will not relent in sensitising the communities on this. What is needed is for more stakeholders to come in and go flat-out starting with the hotspots", he said.

In a related development, angry relatives to a husband have stoned to death their in-law, a woman identified as Fatsileni Welosi, 43, from Loti village, Traditional Authority Nchilamwera in the district for allegedly causing death of her husband.

Thyolo police station officer, John Jailos, said that earlier on Tuesday the two picked a quarrel, but the husband tried to run away from the woman's aggression before falling down and sustained neck injuries which reportedly led to his death as pronounced at Thyolo district hospital.

Following the incident, the husband's relations dragged the wife, Welosi, to a nearby bush where they stoned her to death.

Jailos said they are yet to make any arrests of the mob which engaged in running battles with law enforcers who tried to rescue the woman on two different attempts.