South African church leaders have urged an end to pre-election violence and criticised politicians for fueling it.
"We are disappointed that our political leaders have not been visible and loud enough in their condemnation of the recent factional violence and political assassinations," Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley, who chairs the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference justice and peace commission, said in a June 27 statement.
At least three people have been killed in the Tshwane area around South Africa's capital, Pretoria, in late-June riots triggered by the ruling party's choice of a mayoral candidate for municipal elections, scheduled for August 3. Shops have been looted and cars and buses set alight in violent protests over economic hardship.
