Brave man walks 350km to curb violence

It was a sunny day in Pretoria on 30 April 2015 when Duncan Nyawo, the brave young man from Mpumalanga, arrived at the Union Buildings with his team after an exhausting 350km walk from Mbombela to Pretoria.

His journey started back in 1996 when the Senekal family he lived with, was murdered in what was to be the start of a series of farm murders in South Africa.

“Those people treated me with respect, I ate with the same cutlery, swam in the same pool as their kids. They were for all intents and purposes my family. I was shattered to learn of their murders in my final year of school.”

Not long after the farm murders, Nyawo’s brother, a policeman, was killed while on duty.

“I have so much anger in me because of this, I decided to express what I feel in a good way, through unity,” Nyawo continued.

Nyawo told Rekord he felt the legacy of the late former president Nelson Mandela was going down the drain because of South Africa’s high crime rate.

“We call on the president of South Africa to not only address issues surrounding farm murders and the safety of our police officials, but also these violent xenophobic attacks,” Nyawo explained.

Nyawo and his four fellow hikers were very emotional when they reached the Union Buildings at 11:00 on Thursday morning, with a small crowd praising them for their bravery.

Their biggest challenge of this journey has been the physical strain they endured by hitting the road no later than 05:00 every morning since Monday and only finishing at around 23:30 every night.

The determined Mpumalanga student handed a memorandum to the presidency at the Union Buildings to highlight issues in South Africa surrounding xenophobia, the drastic increase in farm murders and general security concerns threatening job creation and all cultures and race groups in the country.

Nyawo addressed the president: “If farm murders continue like this, there will be no more farmers left to grow food and create jobs. That is why we beg of you and the South African government to take action against farm murders. The best way to address this will be to prioritise farm murders in the same way that rhino poaching has been prioritised.”

“We’re a country with a good history, I want to preserve this history and create a safe future by showing our politicians what is going on in this country.”

When asked what his message to the youth would be, he said: “Join in some expedition. Do something that challenges you. Be an ambassador.”

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