High levels of crime in South Africa should be addressed by bringing in the death penalty, a protester said at a Solidarity march against crime in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“It costs the country millions of rands to fight crime … maybe bring back the death penalty. Why is Zimbabwe safer, why is Botswana a safer country? It’s because they have the death penalty,” Lourens Hamman said angrily.
“People murder and they go on a long vacation to jail.”
Hamman was among a couple of hundred people who had gathered to show their fury over crime.
The protest was part of a nationwide initiative by trade union Solidarity and rights lobbyists AfriForum.
Alta Estach said her son had been murdered a year and six months ago.
“I just wish that they [the police] can find the person. We built our plot next to him so that he could be our security.”
Her neighbour, Karen van Zyl, said she felt crime was not a race issue and that a petition was needed for a peaceful and prosperous country for all.
“Today I just thought I’d let my red show.”
Seeing red
The theme of the march was that the country should “see red” over crime and show that people were tired of blood on the hands of criminals.
Herman Deyzel said his car had been stolen and that he and his wife felt victimised and scared that they would be harmed.
“I’m turning 60, I was born here and I would like to die here.”
Later on Wednesday the gathering was expected to break into groups to visit police stations around Pretoria where they would hand over memorandums outlining their frustrations.
The organisers hope to have people marching in at least 300 towns and cities across the country.
They memorandums would ask the police and government to “bring an end to the terrible bloodshed in the city, province and country”. — Sapa