Masisi statement on the killing of Italian Ambassador to DRC
Sunday, May 23, 2021
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has learnt with dismay the sad news of the killing of the His Excellency Luca Attanasio, Ambassador of Italy to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his Bodyguard, and Driver, on 22 February 2021, near Goma, in the DRC’s Northern Kivu Province.
What is even more troubling is that the Ambassador was on a mission to assist the local communities in the DRC. SADC condemns in the strongest possible terms this barbaric and heinous act of cowardice. It is our fervent hope that the perpetrators will be quickly arrested and brought to justice.
The heartbreaking reports carried elsewhere on this publication of a woman killed in Metsimotlhabe and four family members perishing near Metsimaswaana Bridge are, devastatingly, not isolated incidents. They represent the sharp, painful tip of a weekend that has seen far too many collisions, injuries, and losses on the roads. This alarming spike in fatalities is a screaming siren we cannot ignore. It compels a direct and urgent plea to every...