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The DA urges all South Africans to show restraint and not attend protest action on Monday 19 April 2021 when the farmers implicated in the death of two brothers appear in the local magistrate court in Mkhondo.

We also call on the South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner General Khehla Sitole to urgently send extra officers to the police in the Mkhondo area near Piet Retief to ensure that they have enough officers on the ground to safeguard everyone, should the anticipated unrest transpire.

General Sitole must also send reinforcements to ensure a speedy and in-depth investigation into the incident that led to the death of two people and the injury of three others. It is of utmost importance that the investigation is fully transparent as contradicting reports of what happened are rife.

The DA finds it very worrying that increasing news reports indicate the local SAPS fabricated parts of the violent incident of 9 April, and this is inflaming tensions in the local community and fostering mistrust in the police.

The generally accepted facts seem to be that an altercation broke out between two groups of men and that two men were killed and three seriously injured. Rumours and conflicting versions of events lays the blame at each of the groups’ feet, and it is vital that cool heads prevail, and that the investigation is beyond reproach.

General Sitole must launch an investigation into the allegations that the local SAPS spread lies about the incident. Greater attention should be given to concerns from rural communities that speak out against local officers. General Sitole needs to visit Mkhondo and engage with the community and officers alike.

Trust between SAPS and the communities it’s meant to serve can only be rebuilt once the police take local concerns seriously.

Issued by DA