No one safe in SA, says Amnesty International
Amnesty International says the government is continuing to fail in its constitutional duty to create a safe environment for all South Africans.
The South African chapter of the global body reacted to the recent spate of violent killings in the country.
Ten family members were gunned down in Pietermaritzburg on Friday morning, topping off a week that also saw two Soweto boys, aged five and six, killed and mutilated, and a former political activist was gunned down at a Cape Town train station.
Amnesty International executive director Shenilla Mohamed says the impunity with which killings were carried out, is exacerbating the situation.
“It is the SAPS's responsibility to conduct thorough, efficient, and transparent investigations into all killings, including this most recent mass murder, and ensure that the perpetrators are charged in accordance with the law. We can no longer allow horrendous crimes to continue with impunity, the justice system must begin to act as a deterrent.”
Mohamed says gun-related violence threaten the most fundamental human right, the right to life, adding that easy access to firearms, whether legal or illegal, was one of the main drivers of gun violence.
“According to the latest quarterly crime statistics an average of 82 people is murdered in South Africa every day. No one is safe here.”