Archbishop Odysseus Harvey from the Jesus of Holy Cross Apostle Church in Soweto is calling on the government to bring back the death penalty saying the system as it stands, favours criminals and perpetrators more than the victims of crime.
This comes after the gruesome murder of 6-year-old Tshiamo Ramanye and his 5-year-old friend Nqobile Zulu who went missing and their mutilated bodies were found last week in a Veld in Rockville, Soweto.
The two children were last seen playing together late in the evening and it is alleged they were kidnapped while a third child managed to escape.
Harvey was speaking at a candlelight ceremony in White City in Soweto which was also attended by Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko.
Harvey said his call for the death penalty is based on the situation in South Africa where things are ‘falling apart’ and criminals and perpetrators have more rights than the victims of crime.
“So we keep on maintaining the killers but the government doesn’t realise that people are dying and it seems the government doesn’t care about all these things that are happening. We are here because of the children who were killed.
“When the perpetrators get arrested with these sorts of crimes they have more rights in prison.They are fed by the very same community members who they were killing. So that is why we say if the government brings back the death penalty it will deter them from committing heinous crimes. If you look at a country like Botswana the crime is not as bad as in this country,” he said.
Mazibuko and community members visited the two sites where the bodies of the two boys were found for a wreath laying ceremony.
Mazibuko said community members should continue to support each other during difficult times and they must continue to pray for the bereaved families and the boys who survived the terrible ordeal.
