Schweizer-Reneke - As nine people will on Thursday appear in court in connection with the murder of Ahmed Kathrada's relatives, his foundation expressed hope that this would be the first step to getting a successful conviction.
Yunus Kathrada, the nephew of the late struggle stalwart, and his son Moulana Ahmed were killed during an apparent house robbery in Schweizer-Reneke last week Thursday.
Yunus died at the scene while his son died shortly after being rushed to hospital.
Nine suspects were then arrested days after in Schweizer-Reneke and in Taung and will appear in the Schweizer-Reneke Magistrates' court facing murder and attempted house robbery.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation in a statement said it welcomed the arrests of the nine suspects.
“The foundation commends the police for the speed with which the arrests have been made. What this case, and the recent Vlakfontein Khoza family murder case indicates, is that the South African police do have the capability to apprehend suspects involved in violent crimes.
“We hope that this leads to successful prosecution, and that it sends a strong signal that we are making headway in the battle against crime, the foundation's Neeshan Balton said.
He said that the family was deeply appreciative of the cooperation and assistance from police, but were at the same time saddened that young people were among the suspects.
Balton added though that the quick action of police “must be replicated across the country and is something that all victims of violent crime should benefit from”.