Police Minister Bheki Cele and national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola are in Mpumalanga following the death of a German tourist at the hands of hijackers who shot and killed one of the four passengers on Monday. The two will meet community safety MEC Vusie Robert Shongwe, who will brief them on the investigations and hunt for the suspects who are still at large.
On Tuesday, following the murder, German Ambassador to South Africa Andreas Peschke said he had been in contact with Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu.
"Concerning the tragic incident involving the death of a German tourist in Mpumalanga, the embassy is in close contact with the SA authorities. Our consular team is providing consular assistance. We are grateful for the condolences by Minister Sisulu and Department of Tourism," Peschke said in a statement .
According to News24, the tourists, who were attacked close to Numbi Gate near Kruger National Park, had cut their trip short and depart for Germany on Wednesday and are expected to fly from Mpumalanga to Johannesburg and then to Germany.
It is believed the group of tourists arrived on Monday after visiting the Drakensberg area on the weekend before they were attacked by the suspects on their way to Numbi Gate.
Peschke said the incident could negatively affect German tourists coming to South Africa and also derail efforts to boost the tourism sector, which has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ambassador said that he hoped this would not hamper plans for a direct flight from Germany to Mbombela.
“South Africa is a popular tourist destination in Germany. In fact, we are the third largest tourist market for South Africa and an incident of this kind, of course, can have negative repercussions,’’ said Peschke.
Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the police at Masoyi were investigating an incident in which a tourist was fatally shot by a group of criminals. It is believed that the incident was an attempted car hijacking which happened in White River Mpumalanga a destination notorious for violent crimes in the area.
This is a developing story.