he Minister of the Department of Women, Children and People with disabilities, Lulu Xingwana, is deeply saddened by the atrocities of brutal murders that continue to be committed against women and children in our country. Minister Xingwana conveys heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and communities that have lost loved ones to these senseless and cowardly acts.
Minister Xingwana is responding to the incidence of violence and brutal murders of three elderly female members of the Peters family from Luqoqweni Village, Port St Johns Municipality, in the Eastern Cape.
These acts of violence are crimes against humanity and cannot be condoned or justified by anyone for any reason whatsoever, says Xingwana. The elderly in our society are our pride and heritage and we therefore have a responsibility to protect them. These murders happened within a community and I therefore appeal to all those that witnessed this crime to assist the police to bring those responsible to book.
I also want to commend the law enforcement agencies for the work done so far to find and arrest those responsible.
We will work with the traditional leaders in the affected areas to reach and educate our communities on how best we can protect our senior citizens, women, and children who are falling prey to criminals especially during the coming week (29 September -6th October) as we pay special focus on older persons in our country.
Minister Xingwana will attend the funeral of the three women scheduled to take place on Sat, 28 September in Luqoqweni village, Port St Johns Municipality, in the Eastern Cape
For more enquiries contact:
Ms Phuti Mabelebele
Tel: 012 359 0222/ 0224
Cell: 076 402 7521
E-mail: Phuti@dwcpd.gov.za
