NFP calls for referendum on death penalty following mass shootings

The National Freedom Party (NFP) has called for a referendum on death penalty following a series of mass murders in South Africa over the past few weeks.

The party is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to reinstate the death penalty as mass shootings and murders have escalated to “unbearable” and “unacceptable” rates in the country.

The death penalty was abolished on 6 June 1995, shortly after South Africa became a democratic country.

The court ruled that capital punishment, as provided under the then Criminal Procedure Act, was in conflict with the country’s 1994 constitution.

NFP secretary general Canaan Mdletshe on Tuesday asked for Ramaphosa to invoke his powers in terms of section 84 of the constitution to introduce in parliament a referendum on the death penalty.

“It is becoming crystal clear that lawlessness and anarchy has reached levels that can no longer be tolerated,” said Mdletshe.

He said it is alarming how the instigators of the shootings embark on these massacre shootings on innocent people without any provocation.

“We are well aware that our Constitution clearly protects an individual’s right to life but these criminals are not only violating the rights of their victims to live, they are in fact spitting and urinating on them,” he said.

The police have been working on nabbing the unknown suspects responsible for the shooting incidents in Soweto, Pietermaritzburg, Alexander, Lenasia, Free State and Khayelitsha.

“We are in a crisis. Mass shootings are a national disaster, drastic measures need to be taken. Being lenient to criminals at the expense of law-abiding citizens is not an option anymore.

“We have to be tough on criminals, especially those involved in heinous crime such as excessive murder and gang rape,” added Mdletshe.

The party is asking for the constitution to be revised to protect ordinary citizens who are at the receiving end of these unexplainable shootings.

“We therefore calling on the referendum on the reintroduction of the death penalty because it is clear that punitive measures are failing,” he added.

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