Emotional send-off for slain Nyathi

EMOTIONS ran high yesterday at the burial of Elvis Nyathi who was killed by a vigilante group in Diepsloot, South Africa, on April 6 in the latest outbreak of xenophobic attacks in that country.

Family members demanded justice for the slain 43-year-old during his burial at Umvutsha Park Cemetery in Bulawayo.

Speaking during an emotional service held at Brethren in Christ Church in Lobengula West, Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube said: “As a country, we have been hurt extremely by what happened to Elvis.

“This is hurt that is being felt by the whole nation. We all feel this because there is not a single family that does not have someone in South Africa.

“We realise that if this can happen to one of us, it can happen to anyone. This is why we are mourning Elvis collectively as a nation.”

Minister Ncube said President Mnangagwa was moved by the brutal murder of Nyathi, hence the decision to grant him a State-assisted funeral.

“It is amazing that something of this nature can happen in this day and age.

“Immigration of Zimbabweans to South Africa is not a new thing.

“We had people moving to South Africa even before Independence.

“It makes us wonder why some people are turning on fellow Africans instead of talking through problems,” she said.

Nyathi’s uncle, Mr Mphathisi Ndlovu, said that family wanted to see those behind the callous murder brought to justice.

“It is our wish to see the people that killed him apprehended and punished.

“No human being should depart the earth in that manner. ”