In the wake of the reported killings of government officials and community leaders in various parts of the province, a meeting was held between Premier Stan Mathabatha and the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in Limpopo last Tuesday with the intention of finding proper ways to fight and root out heinous and evil acts that continue to rear their ugly heads in the communities.
The most affected areas were pointed out to be Tubatse, Thulamela and Mogalakwena local municipalities. During a joint media briefing at the Office of the Premier last Thursday, it was highlighted that the meeting was unanimous in condemnation of the senseless, reckless and unacceptable acts that give an impression that human life is lately treated with disdain in Limpopo. When presenting the joint statement to the media, Mathabatha indicated that the meeting was equally concerned that behind these clearly planned killings there appeared to be faceless forces with no regard to human life.
“There is no doubt that Limpopo is generally a peaceful province. In this regard, the meeting has therefore declared those behind these killings as enemies of peace who need to be isolated, brought to book and dealt with in terms of the laws of the country. We cannot tolerate a situation where a tiny minority of criminals is allowed to traumatise communities that generally embrace peace as a value. It is against this background that the peace loving people of our province are called upon to rise up against the peddlers of these callous acts and voice their dissent,” Mathabatha stressed.
He added that nowhere in the civilised world could it be allowed that persons serving the public get killed in the manner they have seen in cases involving Piet Pale, Lleka Lekalakala, Thabang Maupa, Timson Tshililo, Ronald Mani, Vaaltyn Kekana and Ralph Kanyane and yet still remain silent. Mathabatha further stated that it was agreed that an open conversation needed to be saged on building peace within and among the people of Limpopo. Although dates and venues for the conversation are not yet confirmed, he reckoned that the platform will allow communities to express themselves on the spate of violent attacks with a view to help find a long-lasting solution.
Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za
