MBOMBELA – Mr Duncan Nyawo’s feet barely touched ground on home soil when critics started bombarding him on social media with questions regarding his motive for walking and the truth about his past.
Ms Sunette Bridges, Afrikaans singer who became well known for her opinions concerning the killing of whites in South Africa, as well as members of Front Nasionaal (FN) political movement, have scrutinised Nyawo’s story, barely a week after his pilgrimage to the Union Building to take a stand against the killings of farmers and police officers.
Nyawo reportedly said two main reasons behind his campaign were the murder of a man and his wife in Pongola, with whom Nyawo was supposedly very close, and honouring the memory of his brother,
Mr Thembinkosi Nyawo, a police officer who was apparently killed on December 23, 2012.
According to Bridges and Mr Daniel Lötter of FN, no one can confirm that any Senekals had been murdered in Pongola in 1997. According to a spokesman of Pongola police station, no murder cases involving Senekals had been reported in that or any other year.
The Ingwavuma Police Station, where Nyawo’s brother reportedly worked as an officer, could also not confirm that anyone by that name had been shot and killed.
Nyawo denied that he had fabricated the story. “Why would I want to make up something like this? What motive would I have? It angers me that people, especially those whom I was trying to help with my campaign, try to defame me publicly.”
Mr Jaco Klopper and Mr Ian Venter, who joined Nyawo on his walk which started from Halls Gateway on April 27, are also struck with disbelief.
“We don’t know what to make of the accusations,” said Klopper, “but we both know why we walked. We wanted to raise awareness about the matter and we feel we have accomplished that. We have given up much of our lives for this cause and we will continue to do so, no matter the outcome of this investigation.”
