President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed deep regret over the deaths of Collins Khosa and 10 other South Africans at the hands of law enforcement as the country battles the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I regret it because as we imposed the lockdown, I specifically spoke to our security forces and said they must go out among our people with love in their hearts and they must not treat fellow South Africans as an enemy," he said
"But unfortunately to my deepest regret, a number of our compatriots have lost their lives.
Ramaphosa also addressed the killing of George Floyd, an African-American who died at the hands of law enforcement in the US, saying it had galvanised global outrage because the circumstances surrounding his death were all too familiar.
In dealing with the continent and South Africa's own difficult past, Ramaphosa said if the aim of the colonial conquest was theft then race was its justification.
Ramaphosa said after 26 years of democracy, wealth was still concentrated in the hands of the few, predominately white people, while the poor and unemployed were overwhelmingly black.
