The body of the German tourist killed en-route to the Kruger National Park will be flown back to Germany on Thursday. The three tourists who survived the attempted hijacking boarded a Lufthansa flight on Wednesday afternoon after meeting with Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
In a media briefing at OR Tambo International Airport, Sisulu said that Police Minister Bheki Cele had confirmed to her that the three people being held in custody by the South African Police Service were suspects in Monday’s murder and have been arrested.
Sisulu arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, spending the day with the victim’s wife and the two other surviving victims, and met with the board of South African Tourism.
“I would like to again convey my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the tourist who was killed in this incident. We would like to reiterate that South Africa is safe for tourists, and incidents like this are exceedingly rare.”
Victims release public statement
The traumatised victims also made public their own account of what happened at the scene for the first time, through a statement read by Jurgen Kogl, an adviser to Minister Sisulu. The statement confirmed that the 67-year-old driver of the vehicle had been shot in the chest after the car had been ambushed by three individuals armed with pistols, who had blocked the road with their own vehicle.
“The driver had the car in reverse when he was shot, and with his foot on the accelerator, went through a wall into a water tank. Community members came out to see what was happening and this is what chased the perpetrators away,” Kogl relayed, adding that the tourists had requested not to be named.
Before travelling to Mpumalanga, the German tourists had landed at Cape Town International Airport, spending five nights in Cape Town, three nights in Durban and two nights in the Drakensberg.
Bookings from Germany ‘not affected’
Andreas Peschke, Germany's ambassador to South Africa, said no planned bookings had been cancelled as a result of the attack, and that travel advisories for South Africa had not been changed.
“We are reporting back to the German government, but an important part of that is also reporting on the reaction of the South African government. The responsibility taken by the government and the efforts shown by the minister and her team in taking so much time dealing with the family and getting to the bottom of what happened should be of reassurance to possible visitors.”
