Not that this has anything to do with…
“Kill them wherever you find them” (Qur’an 2:191, 4:89, cf. 9:5).
“An accused in the murder of UK botanists in KZN tried to convert him to Islam, witness testifies,” by Nkosikhona Duma, News 24, May 4, 2023:
A 24-year-old witness in the murder case against Italian-born Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, and two others claimed the accused tried to convert him to Islam a few months before Rodney, 73, and Rachel, 63, Saunders were brutally murdered.
Del Vecchio, along with his wife, Fatima Patel, 31, and Malawian national Ahmad Jackson, 31, allegedly threw the bodies of the celebrated botanists into the crocodile-infested Tugela-river after killing them in February 2018.
The accused face several charges, including murder, assault and theft.
The Saunders couple held dual citizenship for South Africa and the United Kingdom. They were last seen alive on 10 February 2018.
It’s understood that they were searching for rare plants and seeds, as part of their work, when they were attacked.
On Wednesday, a witness, who did menial work for Del Vecchio in his Mtunzini home, continued his testimony in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban, after which the defence commenced its cross-examination.
The witness cannot be named due to a court order related to safety concerns.
He said Del Vecchio often persuaded him to read the Quran and other Islamic books.
“He would also show me videos of soldiers dressed in Islamic clothing. In the videos, the soldiers would start by praying before shooting people,” the witness said.
The murder
According to the State’s indictment, WhatsApp communication between Del Vecchio, Patel and Jackson discussed plans to “kill the kuffar [non-believer], abduct their allies, to destroy infrastructure, and to put fear in the heart of the kuffar”.
The State also alleges that, on 10 February 2018, Del Vecchio told Patel and Jackson – on the same WhatsApp group – that “there is an elderly couple in the forest, that is a good hunt and they had equipment”….
On Wednesday, Del Vecchio’s lawyer, Bulelani Mazomba, told the court his client instructed him that the witness often joined him and Patel during their prayer sessions.
But the witnessed denied this.
“No, he’s lying. I have never joined them. I was not familiar with his religion. In fact, I was wary of it as it was my first-time seeing people worshipping like that,” he said.
“If I wanted to anything to do with religion, I would have, perhaps, gone to a church frequented by my parents.”
Gyomza says
“There is an elderly couple in the forest, that is a good hunt…”. Allah loves his human flesh and blood fresh.
Vishnu N says
Islam is such a cruel religion. If a Hindu or Christian did this sort of activity, the whole world will hear about it.
Violet says
Child sacrifice is back big time in Africa..it’s rampant & now listed a major problem by the UN. They don’t bother telling you that child sacrifice was almost ended while the Colonialists were in Africa.
Here in the west we’ve been led by a narrative. We’ve been told repeatedly throughout our lives that Colonialism was the absolute worst thing that we Europeans/UK could do to others
The truth, it was the Communists who began to push this narrative starting back in the 1920’s. Communist Moscow paid for all the pamphlets etc etc. Then the UN picked up on doing the same…the UN was mostly under U.S. control and the US didn’t have the fiinancial advantage of Colonies so wanted it ended. Also, there were the so called intellectuals who had never stepped foot in Africa were pushing the narrative that we stole $ from Colonized peoples. An African woman back in the 1940 -50’s who appreciated the end of tribal warfare & Moslim raids responded, “What do these people think? That we could have just dipped our hands into the dirt and suddenly our bank accounts would be filled?” Not a single word from these intellectuals or the UN that the Colonialists stepped into land that was under constant threat from Moslim raiders who slaughtered, tortured and enslaved the conquered people.
Since Colonialism ended, many countries in African are back at tribal warfare, are under dictators, can’t even feed themselves because of terrible governance…but hey…that doesn’t fit the narrative to talk
Colonialists went into lands that were pre-medieval, where tribal warfare was constant, slaughter & slavery was rampant & child sacrifice were a constant. They didn’t slaughter the inhabitants. They governed and stopped the slaughter.
I am not advocating for Colonialism to come back I am saying that we don’t have as much to be ashamed of as certain segments of society would like us to be. Yes there were nasty individual colonial officers, but for the most part it wasn’t the case. BTW…the worst we see is Belgium Congo. Fact- it was a Belgium private business that commited the autrocities. That business was funded by the king..but when actual Colonialism (governing of a land) the autrocities were stopped.