Residents hold placards as they protest against the rise of crime in the area in Diepsloot, South Africa, on April 6, 2022. (Photo by GUILLEM SARTORIO / AFP)
Diepsloot: No person deserves to die over their immigration status, says ActionSA
Mashaba said violence is never the answer. ‘You don’t get to fan the flames and then lament the destruction of the fire,’ replied a Twitter user.
Residents hold placards as they protest against the rise of crime in the area in Diepsloot, South Africa, on April 6, 2022. (Photo by GUILLEM SARTORIO / AFP)
A man from Zimbabwe was killed in Diepsloot, Gauteng, by a mob hours after Minister of Police Bheki Cele visited the area on Wednesday, 6 April.
THE BRUTAL KILLING OF ELVIS NYATHI IN DIEPSLOOT
According to reports, Elvis Nyathi was stoned and burnt to death by a roving group in Diepsloot that went door to door and demanded that residents produce passports and identity documents to prove their nationality.
“Reports that we’re getting from witnesses is that there’s a small group of people that went from door to door and then when they got to this house, this young man just ran out of the house and they chased him and unfortunately he was killed.
“As soon as the police got that information, they rushed to the scene but when they got there, the people had already been dispersed,” said South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili.
ActionSA leader said Nyathi’s murder in Diepsloot is a “stain” on the national conscience and that no person deserves to die because of their “perceived immigration status.”
“Violence will never be the answer,” said party leader Herman Mashaba in a tweet.
“Our first priority must be the promotion of the rule of law. We cannot allow this country to descend further into chaos and anarchy. Our fight is with the ANC government.”
Mashaba’s statement was met with familiar criticism. ActionSA and Mashaba himself have been accused of xenophobia over the years. “You don’t get to fan the flames and then lament the destruction of the fire. That’s shameless,” said a Twitter user in reply.
READ: Change of heart? Herman Mashaba tells SA citizens to stop scapegoating foreigners
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) vowed to visit the family of the deceased and help them find justice.
“The painful images which are populating SA television screens today are the ashes of what was once a human being, who was burnt alive simply because he could not provide a passport to individuals who have taken the law into their own hands,” said EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
Cele visited the community after residents expressed their outrage at the crime in the area over the past few months. A man in his 20s was shot and killed over the weekend – one of many incidents, said Diepsloot residents.
Cele promised that he would deploy more than 50 additional police officers and 16 vehicles to the troubled area.
The Ministry of Police promised to visit Nyathi’s home in Diepsloot on Thursday.
