Political tensions rise as EFF blames March and March for Mossel Bay teen's murder
The fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Nhlamulo Sambo in the Western Cape has ignited a fierce political and social debate.
Image: Facebook/Nonhlanhla Sambo
EFF MP Naledi Chirwa has launched a scathing attack on March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, alleging the movement's anti-foreigner rhetoric has contributed to a climate of hostility that preceded the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Nhlamulo Sambo in Mossel Bay.
Sambo was killed on May 31 in an incident that has ignited concerns over xenophobia and language-based discrimination.
According to police, the teenager was fatally wounded following an altercation with a man. The suspect fled the scene and remains at large.
"He was declared dead by paramedics on scene. The suspect fled the scene. He is yet to be arrested," said police spokesperson, Christopher Spies.
His murder followed sporadic scenes of violence in which 55 shacks were set alight in George on May 29.
On May 30, police were called out to a scene in George where the body of a 27-year-old man was discovered with multiple injuries.
Shortly thereafter, another man, aged 34, with assault injuries was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital.
It was later determined that the two deceased were of Mozambican descent.
Chirwa accused Ngobese-Zuma and her movement of helping to create conditions that normalise hostility toward people perceived to be foreigners or outsiders.
She argued that repeated warnings about the consequences of inflammatory rhetoric had been ignored.
"What did you think was going to happen when a group of people chant, 'Fusek Shangane!'? What did you think was going to happen when a Venda policeman in KZN was being called a kwrkwr, humiliated and told to go back home?" she asked.
She further accused the government of failing to intervene decisively, directing particular criticism at Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.
"Schreiber is in all of this but is on a political vacation because his skin gives him immunity from your chants. Not once have you chanted fusek Leon!' Sies!'."
Ngobese-Zuma swiftly rejected the accusations, accusing Chirwa of exploiting a tragedy for political gain.
"Your obsession with March and March makes you people so heartless and careless to the point of selfishness, and I hope you will get the votes you are so desperately looking for," she responded.
Sambo's family has questioned the circumstances surrounding his death, saying information available to them paints a different picture of what happened before he was killed.
"According to information available to us, Nhlamulo was found sleeping in a room with a friend when a mob arrived during a march that had started in Mossel Bay. We believe that Nhlamulo was forcibly removed from the house and attacked. He was stabbed multiple times, resulting in his death."
The family's account has intensified calls for a full investigation into the incident as anger continues to mount across the country.