The DA has added its weight to the denouncement of the recent killing of Mozambican trader Emmanuel Sithole [33] in the recent xenophobia attacks in Alex.
Describing his killers as monsters, DA MPL Kate Lorimer said they must be hunted down and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. “The heart-wrenching photographs which show him begging for mercy and crawling along a rubbish-strewn street are the keys to finding his killers. If the police were able to quickly track down the muggers of SABC presenter Vuyo Mvoko, as the deed was captured on camera, they should therefore be able to track down these murderers just as quickly.”
She urged the provincial police commissioner Lesetja Mothiba to use every tool (including the offer of a reward) and every Saps member he could, to find and arrest these men who should not be allowed to get away with this brutal act.
“The country should make an example of them or it will be failing itself and all its people. Xenophobic thugs are shaming us across the globe and if we don’t do anything, we are as guilty of his death as those who killed him.”
Her colleague, who is the councillor of the ward in which Sithole was killed, Andrew Stewart said he was pleased by the arrests. “This is a tragedy that need not have taken place. I condemn the acts of violence carried out against foreign nationals.”
Stewart urged government to address the underlying problems that have led to the latest xenophobic out breaks which have flared for the third time. He commended Alex residents who protected some of the foreign shopkeepers. “We must remember that it only takes a small percentage of a community to create anarchy, but likewise a small number can make a difference too.”
Details: Kate Lorimer 083 642 2727.
