Leaders must speak wisely - Gigaba

After a fresh outbreak of xenophobic attacks in Umlazi on Friday, following a week in which four people have died in the greater Durban area, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has urged leaders to refrain from making statements that instigate or condone attacks on foreigners.

Addressing displaced foreign nationals at the Westcliff Sports Ground in Chatsworth, Gigaba appealed to all leaders to be mindful of what they say.

“All our leaders in the country have a responsibility to use words to build and not destroy,” he said, addressing hundreds of refugees.

Four people have reportedly died in the attacks, which are believed to have been sparked by a comment King Goodwill Zwelithini made during a speech last month.

Before the violence in Durban erupted, the king told a moral regeneration meeting in Pongola that foreigners were helping break down culture, that some were responsible for crime, and that illegal foreigners should be deported.

Since then, thousands of foreigners have been attacked and chased out of their respective communities in Chatsworth, Isipingo, Inanda and uMlazi, while foreign-owned shops have been looted.

The king has since issued a statement condemning the violence, saying the province and country could experience something akin to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 if the attacks continued.

“At present, the violence is in danger of spiralling out of control, and is resulting in the victimisation of so-called ‘foreigners’ or people who are perceived as ‘other’, many of whom are here legally and contribute to the economy of the province,” it read.

Chaos erupted in the Durban city centre earlier this week when police used tear gas and a water cannon to stop an anti-xenophobia march. The police said they feared for the safety of foreigners.

Wednesday’s march, which had been organised by shack-dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, was stopped because their permit had been revoked by the city.

In a bid to quell the violence, various organisations – including church leaders, civil society groups and Lawyers for Human Rights – have asked the king to address a public gathering to set the record straight or retract his statement that has been linked to the attacks.

In the latest incident, shops belonging to foreigners were looted in uMlazi on Thursday evening and early on Friday morning.

The shops belonged to Somalis. The police said they had been able to contain the situation.

The king has repeatedly said his remarks were taken out of context as he wasn’t referring to local African foreigners, but all foreign nationals.

The king further said he was offended by the name-calling by the media and academics.

“A mere suggestion that people who were looting were doing that under the king’s instruction is disingenuous,” he said.

Without mentioning names, Gigaba said he was making a firm call to “all leaders” for them to stop making remarks that condone the loss of life, physical attacks or damage to property.

“South Africa is not against Africans. I’m appealing to all leaders to stop making statements that instigate or condone attacks against foreign nationals,” he said.

He also emphasised that it was not the view of the government or all South Africans that all foreign nationals were criminals.

The minister described the attacks as sad, unfortunate and regrettable.

“They were caused by a few criminals, and we will deal with them.”

The government’s priority now, he said, would be to reintegrate the foreigners into their various communities before schools re-opened next week.

“Your children must be able to go back to school.”

Even foreigners without legal permits still deserved to be treated with dignity.

“We want to assure you that you can go back to living a normal life without being attacked or living in fear,” said Gigaba.

eThekwini deputy mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala said the city, together with various government departments and stakeholders, was organising a unified march to show solidarity with the foreigners.

Gigaba said he had also been informed that some immigrants wanted to go back to their native countries.

“But I don’t want you to leave this country under a cloud created by a few criminals,” he said.

During a walkabout at the Chatsworth sports ground, foreigners raised concerns about the shortage of tents, food and toilets.

Gigaba said the government unfortunately did not have the resources or experience of running a camp.

“But we have done all we can do to provide for those affected,” he said.

Meanwhile, provincial police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni on Friday said she had deployed reinforcements to areas hit by xenophobic attacks, while talks were taking place to resolve the situation,

A total of 17 people had been arrested, police said, adding that local residents had given them information that had led to some of the arrests.