South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday condemned the killing of five people in xenophobic attacks in the country. Dozens of people were arrested in Johannesburg on Monday as they tried to loot shops, torch vehicles, and target lorries driven by foreign nationals in several parts of the city.
Despite the arrests, hordes of people continued to gather in Johannesburg’s central business district for the third day of unrest directed against foreigners. Police had to fire tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to quell the unrest.
In a video address broadcast on Twitter, Ramaphosa said attacks on businesses run by foreign nationals are totally unacceptable and that the government won’t allow such thing to happen in South Africa, reported France 24.
“I want it to stop immediately,” said Ramaphosa, adding that the violence had “no justification.”
The president convened the ministers in the security cluster to ensure that they keep a close eye on these acts of wanton violence and find ways of stopping them.
“There can be no justification for any South African to attack people from other countries,” Ramaphosa tweeted.
The African Union (AU) also issued a statement condemning the “despicable acts” of violence “in the strongest terms”.
The Nigerian government said the attacks against its people were unacceptable and announced it was sending an envoy to South Africa “to express Nigeria’s displeasure over the treatment of its citizens and to get the assurance of the safety of their lives and property”.
South Africa is a major destination for economic migrants from the southern Africa region, with many moving from neighboring countries like Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe in search of work. In recent years, foreigners, including Nigerians, have been repeatedly targeted in South Africa. Back in 2015, at least seven immigrants were killed when South Africans went on the rampage burning and looting shops owned by foreigners.
