Lack of action shows black lives don’t matter

A LOT has happened in KZN during the recent unrest, including the murder of many precious souls. The sad part is that we don’t know the number of the dead. Yet this matter is being underplayed.

Last Saturday, Newzroom Afrika interviewed the EFF member and former MP Mam’ Khawula regarding the unrest in KZN. Khawula indicated that many lives have been lost and families have been left destitute. And that the government is doing nothing to help.

During the unrest, the focus was on looting and burning of business premises. So, the police were deployed in malls. They were deployed after the fact. This is a dereliction of duty but nothing much is being said about it.

While eyes were on the malls and vandalised business premises, people were being killed in Phoenix and surrounding areas. And the killers remain unknown. Sadly, these killings have now been reduced to racial tensions.

A member of the national mortuaries was interviewed on the news channel last week. He said more than 500 people have been murdered in Phoenix and surrounding areas. As a result, the government mortuary in Phoenix was full.

The government has since disputed that number. According to the acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, the number is 330, countrywide.

One dead person is too many. We need to know the number of the dead. We are talking about human beings.

The majority of people who have died there are blacks. And there is no sense of urgency in dealing with this issue. Do the lives of blacks matter? No, they do not matter. It’s sad that it is the black government that is dragging its feet to get to the bottom of this issue.

It is clear that we don’t know the entire story of what happened in KZN. The government needs to move with speed to find the truth. If it drags its feet, as it usually does, we must push it. THABILE MANGE |