Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy on Tuesday appealed to the Mpumalanga police to find the perpetrators who killed a German tourist.

A group of German tourists was travelling to a Mdluli community-owned safari lodge, in Mpumalanga, when they were held up by a group on the Numbi road on Monday afternoon. One member of the group of four tourists was shot and killed during the attack. 

Creecy condemned the crime and added that the tourist’s murder will undermine the country’s tourism recovery and job creation as it emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The killing of a foreign tourist to South Africa is detrimental to the country’s attempts to recover from the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The safari lodge, which opened its doors to the public shortly before the international travel ban to stem the spread of the pandemic, employs 200 local community members comprising 95% of the staff complement. These men and women are also part of a skills development programme,” explained Creecy.

She said police should work tirelessly to bring the murderers to book.