Durban - The ANC Youth League national task team visited Phoenix and surrounding areas – including KwaMashu, Amaoti, Bhambayi and Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal – on Friday to get a sense of how the areas are doing after the recent racial tension.
The team first visited the Phoenix Medico-Legal Mortuary to establish how many people died because of the alleged racial killings and the violent unrest that took place a few days ago.
Police Minister Bheki Cele this week confirmed that about 20 people were killed due to the violent unrest in Phoenix.
Task team spokesperson Sizophila Mkhize said what they found out was that about 25 bodies at the mortuary have not yet been identified by their families.
She said they then moved to the Phoenix police station to ask why the investigation was moving so slowly.
"We believe that guns used to kill people were unlicensed firearms,” said Mkhize.
She said they also visited the bereaved families to send their condolences and show them that they cared for them.
“I don’t think you can discuss and try to find a solution or moving forward without the people who are affected. I can tell you that people are angry at what has happened.
“I am afraid that we seem to be downplaying this thing, there is so much anger on the ground, we need to find an amicable solution.
“I can tell you that rhetoric of unity and peace and rainbow nation is not going to help, the root cause of the problem is racial inequality in KZN and that needs to be addressed,” said Mkhize.
Political Bureau