Racial tension is running high in Greytown after the murder of the town’s acting municipal manager Sydney Sikhakhane, the Witness reported on Thursday.
Its website said the alleged killers were members of local Muslim community, and Muslim businessmen had received threats from other residents.
A businessman who identified himself only as Rafeeq, said Muslims had been called ”crooked Iraqis, Afghanistanis and dirty Arabs”.
”People are running amok all over and threatening to burn our businesses down,” he said.
”This must be clearly understood — it’s our children who are involved, not their parents and relatives. Not all Muslims are bad people.”
The accused are Imran Sayed (23) and Fadir Pital (22) and brothers Zaahid (19) Riswaaw (26) and Rasheed Mia (25).
They were not asked to plead in the Greytown Magistrate’s court on Wednesday and would apply for bail next Friday.
Their parents’ businesses were well known in Greytown and included a car wash, a clothing store, a cellphone shop and a car dealership.
A group of protesters gathered outside the court on Wednesday. Later, they marched around town and threatened some businesses.
Sikhakhane was killed on Sunday when he tried to resolve an apparent stand-off between five men and a security guard after a heated argument. – Sapa