Scenes that sum up the sad state of affairs in South Africa this week
South Africans have come to the end of a very difficult week and here are some of the scenes that depict a country in crisis after a string of violent events this week.
The weekend is upon us and provides the perfect time to reflect on what has been one of the most harrowing weeks of 2019 in SA so far. This week began on a very sombre note when news broke that missing UCT student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, was raped and murdered by a SA Post Office worker when she had gone to collect a parcel. This was followed by news that six-year-old Amy-Leigh de Jager was kidnapped in Vanderbijlpark. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, a string of violent xenophobic attacks sprung up in parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria where many shops owned by foreign nationals were burnt and looted leaving many injured and some people dead.
Thousands flooded their social media to express deep disdain and concern over the high profile murders of women and the violent crimes that continue to plague South Africa and the xenophobic attacks that keep springing up. Some called for the death penalty to be re-instated while many took to the streets in protest against these violent crimes in our country.
The only solace in the scenes of the past week is the fact that South Africans were able to come together in the masses to express to government that this kind of scourge can no longer be tolerated in South Africa. In Cape Town, thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding change and many parts of the country held candlelight vigils in memory of Uyinene Mrwetyana and other women and children who have been victims of gender-based violence. Many South Africans are wearing black today in protest against gender-based violence.
Here are some of the pictures from social media from this week’s sad events:
#AmINext movement around the country
Most painful thing to watch 😢💔#UyineneMrwetyana #RIPUyinene#AmINext pic.twitter.com/E0tNfQKfEF
— uYesu Nyana KaThixo (@uYesuKrestu) September 2, 2019
University of Limpopo 😭😣#AmINext pic.twitter.com/tfQsLhuJwZ
— Apla Jr. (@BoetPrince) September 3, 2019
President Cyril addressing the crowd. #AmINext #SAShutDown pic.twitter.com/g9V9fPS6zJ
— Chase • High Ticket Affiliate (@AffiliateCartek) September 5, 2019
Scenes from Gauteng this week:
https://twitter.com/Rinku_jahir/status/1168964087449083908
PHOTO STORY: Members of the @SAPoliceService are pictured patroling the #Johannesburg township of Alexandra to restore normalcy after #JoburgCBD was hit by a new wave of xenophobic rioting and shop looting.
Police say they have also arrested dozens of shop looters. pic.twitter.com/4tw8PiZL80
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) September 3, 2019
Properties & businesses owned by Nigerians being set on fire in #Johannesburg . pic.twitter.com/jI5frMeEYn @abikedabiri @MBuhari @ProfOsinbajo @GeoffreyOnyeama #Xenophobia
— Aijay (@Hejeoma) September 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/IamWizEthiopia/status/1168880199745843201
🇿🇦 In #SouthAfrica, anti-foreigner violence have rocked the cities of #Pretoria and #Johannesburg in the last few days.
At least five people have been killed and around 200 have been arrested. ⤵️ #XenophobiaInSouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/K4MR11DfZa
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) September 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/Rinku_jahir/status/1168461245554540545
