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Men take Long walk to stop killings

WALKING WITH CONVICTION: Duncan Nyando, Alex Leitch and Ian Venter, in the background, left Nelspruit in Mpumalanga to walk to Pretoria, 319km away, on foot to protest against farm murders, police killings, land grabs and xenophobic attacks PHOTO: SUPRISE MAZIBILA
WALKING WITH CONVICTION: Duncan Nyando, Alex Leitch and Ian Venter, in the background, left Nelspruit in Mpumalanga to walk to Pretoria, 319km away, on foot to protest against farm murders, police killings, land grabs and xenophobic attacks PHOTO: SUPRISE MAZIBILA

Personal tragedies which have befallen five Mpumalanga men prompted them to take a 319km journey to the Union Buildings in Pretoria - on foot.

Armed with energy drinks, water, first-aid kits and extra clothing, the men left Nelspruit on Monday morning.

Each of them has been affected by xenophobia, farm murders, land grabs and police killings - their activism comes from personal experiences.

By the time Sowetan caught up with them in Wonderfontein, near Belfast in Mpumalanga, after midday yesterday, the men had completed 142km.

At the Union Buildings, a group of sympathisers will be waiting for them. They will all walk in to submit a memorandum to President Jacob Zuma's office.

Duncan Nyando believes the long walk from Nelspruit to Pretoria is worth it.

Nyando, 37, is at the forefront of this five-man campaign which he said stems from two personal tragedies that affected him as a result of violent crime.

"As the organiser of this long-walk campaign I felt that it was high time somebody stood up before it is too late. People are dying out there," Nyando said.

"We are doing this because we are against the killing of farmers and the forceful occupation of their land by some political parties. We are also against xenophobia which is now destroying our tourism industry. Some countries want nothing to do with us because of it."

Nyando, Ian Venter, Alex Leitch, Jaco Klopper and another activist who will join them in Witbank, are hoping to reach Pretoria either today or tomorrow. They stop at sunset to sleep.

Nyando, a school teacher and father of four, said the idea came to him after the recent killing of police officers on duty in Johannesburg.

"My brother was a cop and was killed while responding to an armed robbery on December 23 2012. In 1996, the farmers who were paying for my school feels were brutally killed.

"That's why I'm doing this today. I want to send a message that says let us stop killing farmers, foreigners and cops because without them, this country is going nowhere."

mazibilas@sowetan.co.za

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