Johannesburg – The wife of the German tourist who was killed at the Kruger National Park is both traumatised and upset over how the incident is being portrayed in the media, specifically the German media, says Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Sisulu told a press conference that the family was traumatised.
“Firstly, they were traumatised by the incident itself but secondly they were traumatised by how the story had been conveyed in the media.
“The wife of the deceased was very upset about how the matter was being reported in the German media because the children out there were not aware that their father had died and when it was conveyed to them it was not conveyed in a way that she would have liked.
“She had hoped the story would have remained under wraps.”
Sisulu, who was joined by an advisor and German ambassador Andreas Peschke during the media briefing, spent the whole day with the tourism board and the family of the deceased to try to get to the bottom of what happened.
The family shared their love for the country and a full version of events before they departed for Germany.
The post-mortem has also been done and the body will be repatriated on Thursday.
In a letter read by the minister’s advisor, from the wife of the deceased, she detailed their unfortunate experience so it may be accurately shared in the media, particularly the German media.
The family has also asked to remain anonymous and for that to be respected.
In the letter, the wife said they were on their way to Numbi gate when their vehicle was blocked by another vehicle and three armed men jumped out of the car and walked towards their hired car.
“As the driver saw the men approach, he unlocked the car and the men were triggered to shoot and the driver was shot and fell to the left,” the letter read in part.
“The fully armed men continued to walk towards the car... It was clear that the driver had died, however, he had the car in reverse and his foot on the accelerator and the car sped backwards and hit the wall behind them.”
The letter goes on to detail how the armed men continued their attack on them even after the accident, and only fled when the people in the compound came out to see what had happened to their wall.
Earlier, police minister Bheki Cele said three people had been taken in for questioning in connection with the incident.
“This is a very sad day for us. It’s a very sad day for the German people. We are very concerned about the safety of our tourism. We want to assure people that SA is a safe place,” she said.
“South Africans are peace-loving people. It is our sincerest regret that this has happened.”
The minister has assured the public that the government is doing everything in its power to curb incidents of this kind and to ensure that the tourism sector and tourists are protected.
“(Police Minister Bheki) Cele said the Kruger is a problematic area. It will either be secured or an alternative route will be introduced,” said Sisulu.
Ambassador Peschke also shared his gratitude at how the matter has been handled by the government and the police.
“We are grateful that the government of South Africa gave so much prominence to dealing with this case. Germany is South Africa’s third-largest tourism market,” said Peschke.
IOL