The police are questioning three people in relation to the brutal murder of a German tourist who was gunned down during an attempted hijacking in Mpumalanga on Monday night.
The murder, which received wide coverage in the media, also attracted the attention of Police Minister Bheki Cele, who visited the crime scene on Wednesday. Cele was accompanied by national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola and his management team.
The minister was later quoted by media as saying: “As we stand here, we have three people of interest on this one. They are not arrested though, they are people of interest. They are in the hands of the police.”
He added that it is only a matter of time before the police crack the case.
Speaking about criminal activities in the province, Cele said: “I have been given 11 cases of robberies in Mpumalanga, fortunately, there are no murders. The police have only made two arrests thus far.”
The German tourist, aged 67, was fatally shot by a gang of three armed men while travelling with friends in a Hyundai H1 on Numbi Road en route to Numbi Gate at Mdluli Safari Lodge.
It is believed that the assailants were driving in a VW Caddy.
On Tuesday, Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu condemned the murder and said it will put a dent on the country’s fast-growing tourist numbers after the first half of the year showed a staggering increase in arrivals.
“Our country receives a large number of tourists from all over the globe, including Germany. The high number of tourists is one of the ways in which our tourism sector has been able to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Sisulu on Tuesday.
She called for a speedy arrest and for harsh punishment to be meted out on the suspects.
“This crime will not deter us. We will continue to intensify targeted communication on our digital platforms to sell South Africa as a destination of choice, inviting the world to come and ‘live again’ with us”.
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