Ramaphosa warns Mqhekezweni attack will end ‘disastrously’ for suspects

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the attack on Mqhekezweni Great Place, which resulted in the murder of traditional leader Nkosikazi Thenjiwe Eunice “Nogcinile” Mtirara, will end “equally disastrously for the suspects involved.”

Chieftainess Nogcinile Mtirara was gunned down on Tuesday by two unknown suspects wearing balaclavas.

Eastern Cape police have since launched a manhunt for suspects involved in the murder.

Mqhekezweni Great Place is the historic home of the AbaThembu nation, settled in the OR Tambo District. It was also home to regent King Jongintaba Mtirara, who raised and groomed young Nelson Mandela, who became the first democratically-elected president of South Africa after the fall of apartheid.

Warning

Ramaphosa said he is deeply saddened by the passing of Mtirara at the “hands of violent criminals”.

“This merciless attack on an elderly woman who is a leader in our society and a builder of communities, fills us with grief; but it also fuels our resolve to stop violent crime and bring justice to those who live outside the law and have no respect for the dignity and lives of fellow citizens.

“Every day in our country, our courts are dealing with perpetrators who thought they could get away with terrorising individuals or communities. The attack on Mqhekezweni Great Place will end equally disastrously for these perpetrators,” Ramaphosa said.

ALSO READ: Mqhekezweni Chief murdered, matric pupils raped in Eastern Cape

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenaya, said Ramaphosa offered his “deep condolences to Nkosikazi Mtirara’s AmaDlomo royal clan and the AbaThembu Kingdom more broadly”.

Pupils raped

Magwenya said Ramaphosa is equally saddened by an incident of gender-based violence (GBV) that targeted grade 12 pupils in a “critical phase of their young lives and educational journey.”

Police said five pupils were raped and robbed at gunpoint in the Mqhekezweni Administrative Area.

The provincial head of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Investigations unit (FCS) assembled a team to investigate and apprehend the perpetrators

“President Ramaphosa expects justice to be exacted as well on suspects who raped and robbed five learners at gunpoint in the same Mqhekezweni administrative area less than 24 hours after the attack on the royal household,” Magwenya said

Magwenaya added that Ramaphosa has called on community members to work with the police and other authorities to make communities safer, including reporting any information that may assist police in their investigations about the two incidents.

ALSO READ: Five dead in latest Eastern Cape mass shooting in New Brighton