Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned violence against foreigners, which resulted in the deaths of seven people last week.
In his weekly newsletter, the president likened the “recent incidents of anti-foreigner sentiment” to apartheid.
“We have seen people being stopped on the street by private citizens and being forced to produce identification to verify their immigration status,” he said.
“We have seen marches being led on people’s homes and their dwellings raided for evidence of criminal activity. We have seen people being attacked, hurt and even killed because of how they looked or because they have a particular accent. This was how the apartheid oppressors operated.”
News24 previously reported that during a weekend of violence, seven people were reportedly killed.
Diepsloot was rocked by protests, with residents demanding better policing. They claimed undocumented foreign nationals were driving up crime levels.
More than 50 people have been arrested in Diepsloot and additional police officers have been deployed to the area.
“This loss of life is deplorable, as is the killing of a fellow African from Zimbabwe allegedly at the hands of vigilantes. Crime is a serious problem in this country. It affects all communities and people are justifiably tired of living in fear of criminals.
“Contrary to what is claimed by some anti-immigration groupings and individuals, the perpetrators of crime are both black and white, male and female, foreigner and citizen,” said Ramaphosa.
He added that 12 000 additional police officers would be recruited, and that the government was re-establishing community policing forums across the country.
He said:
The president added that illegal migration posed a risk to South Africa’s security, stability and economic progress, and that enforcement of migration legislation was a priority for the government.
“We are working to ensure that syndicates perpetrating immigration fraud in collusion with corrupt officials are brought to book. This year alone, several people implicated in passport fraud have been arrested.”
Acts of lawlessness directed at foreign nationals, whether documented or undocumented, could not be tolerated, Ramaphosa said.
“Attacking those we suspect of wrongdoing merely because they are a foreign national is not an act of patriotism. It is immoral, racist and criminal. In the end, it will lead to xenophobia, whose consequences we have lived through in previous years. We do not want to go back there because in the main the people of South Africa are not xenophobic.”
Did you know you can listen to articles? Subscribe to News24 for access to this exciting feature and more.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
