South African opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has asked Zimbabweans to forgive his country for the brutal murder of Elvis Nyathi who was stoned and torched to his death by vigilantes demanding ID documents.
In a solidarity message to mark Zimbabwe’s 42nd Independence Day, Malema asked Zimbabweans and Africans in general to forgive them “for the misdemeanors and criminality of a few.”
“The independence anniversary comes at a time of heightened Afrophobia that resulted on the violent and merciless killing of a gardener Elvis Nyathi, who was accused of stealing jobs, gardening deemed a stolen job,” Malema said in the statement.
“On this day we call upon the people of our sister country Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa to forgive South Africa and its people for the misdemeanors and criminality of a few, misled by the lack of uBuntu, to hate Africans in Africa.
“Criminality knows no nationality. In fact, the real criminality is at the doorsteps of white settlers who invaded and grabbed land and mineral resources for themselves at the exclusion of Africans.
“The level of self-hate and inhumanity of senseless killing of Africans by Africans must be condemned in its entirety and unequivocally, with the contempt it deserves,” Malema said.
Meanwhile Nyathi’s family want his killers brought to justice.
Speaking at his burial on Saturday in Bulawayo, his uncle, Mphathisi Ndlovu, said: “It is our wish to see the people, who did this, be apprehended. No person deserves to die the way Elvis did.”
Nyathi was given a state-assisted funeral; all expenses incurred were paid for by the government of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s minister of state for provincial affairs in Bulawayo, Judith Ncube, said Nyathi’s death was a very painful experience for the country.
“As a country, we have been extremely hurt by what happened to Elvis. Migration of Zimbabweans into South Africa is not a new thing. We had people moving to South Africa even before independence.
“It makes us wonder why some people are turning on fellow Africans, instead of talking through problems,” she said.
Nyathi’s burnt clothes were placed in his grave before it was closed.
He is survived by his wife and four children.
