This is the assurance from the executive Mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba, following the shooting at the world’s famous eatery Sakhumzi, this past weekend at Orlando, Soweto.
The unfortunate shooting saw the death of a Ghananian national, who was the manager at Sakhumzi.
Following his visit on Tuesday, the concerned Mayor promised the installation of security cameras in the only street made famous for producing two world Nobel laureates recipients.
“We will explore ways to secure Vilakazi Street in Soweto, even leading up to the Hector Peterson Museum, in order to protect visitors and businesses.
It is important that the street is appreciated and protected as it is valuable.
“We need to understand the importance of that street. It is a street with such significance for the city and South Africa and so we need to make sure that visitors coming to our communities are protected.”
From the tourism point of view, Gauteng Tourism CE Siphiwe Ngwenya expressed condolences to all affected parties, particularly the family of the deceased. “We are hopeful that the law-enforcement agencies will bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to book and encourage those who might have information on the incident to come forward.
“We call on our communities to work with us in the creation of livable communities and neighborhoods. Such communities are vital in the drive to sell destination Gauteng, particularly our townships, as vibrant hotbeds of entertainment and lifestyle experiences.”
Meanwhile, Sakhumzi restaurant owner is still reeling in shock and opened up for the first time on his special relationship with the manager who was aged 60.
“He wasn’t just a father to me, he was also a father to the staff members and he was one of our champions that we believed in and trusted. When people had situations and challenges, they used to feel free and go to him. We will always miss him,” Sakhumzi Maqubela said emotionally.
Maqubela went on to say that he trusted his manager’s leadership skills and was never anxious to leave him in charge of things because he knew he was reliable and nothing would go wrong.
“This is a loss to the restaurant, a loss to the family and a loss to tourism because with the right people and the right sills, we are able to take our businesses to the next level. Businesses are not growing because there’s no capacity of trained professionals working in our organisations, so this is really a loss,” Maqubela told the publication.
While the identity of the deceased manager remains unannounced, Maqubela revealed that the manager had been living and working in South Africa. He also revealed that before joining the Sakhumzi team in 2015, the deceased was teaching at Cofimvaba Primary School and Daliwonga High School – both in the Eastern Cape.
Investigations are still on going says police spokesperson Kay Makhubela.
Additional reporting by TMG.
