South Africa’s police boss on Monday condemned the killing of a honeymooning British tourist’s wife in a Cape Town township, saying the incident brings the country into disrepute.
“It is appalling that the actions of one or two thugs should bring our entire country into disrepute in the eyes of the world,” said national police commissioner General Bheki Cele said in a statement.
“South Africa safely hosts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually without any serious incident, as was proved during the recent 2010 Fifa World Cup,” said Cele.
According to the police, the couple were on Saturday abducted by armed men who stopped their taxi at an intersection close to Gugulethu.
The attackers forced out the driver and sped off with the couple; the 31-year-old man was released an hour later.
But the woman was killed and her body was found in Gugulethu, south-east of Cape Town.
Authorities in Sweden have identified the 28-year-old woman as a Swedish citizen.
“The Swedish foreign ministry is helping support her family and will travel to South Africa to help bring home her body,” ministry spokesperson Henrik Knobe told Agence France-Presse.
Regional tourist authorities said the couple, who married two weeks ago, arrived in Cape Town on Thursday.
“We are saddened to learn about this horrendous and shocking incident,” said Cele.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with an average 46 killings a day last year, according to official statistics.
‘Disgraceful’
Meanwhile, Cape Town authorities on Monday called on the tourism industry to caution visitors not to enter “unfamiliar areas” of the city, especially at night.
“We are appealing to the tourism industry and the public to be vigilant around tourism safety, and to caution visitors not to enter unfamiliar areas, especially at night,” Cape Town mayoral committee member for economic development and tourism, Felicity Purchase, said in a statement issued by Cape Town Tourism (CTT).
In a separate statement, Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said he was outraged by the killing.
“I am outraged at this disgraceful, wanton act of violence. The unnecessary loss of life is a blow to all Capetonians and South Africans and we are all deeply saddened and troubled by it.
“An incident such as this tarnishes our city’s reputation as a tourist destination, and it will have a negative ripple effect which we will all feel.”
Plato said he had instructed the city’s metro police to supply the police “with all the assistance that they may require to speedily close this case”. — AFP, Sapa