Violence against immigrants broke
out in South Africa Sunday and has sparked angry reactions across the
continent.
Anti-foreigner attacks in Johannesburg have
triggered violence and widespread looting of South African-owned brands in
Nigeria.
Protesters set fire to many entrances leading into a busy mall housing
South African retail store Shoprite and looted groceries and toiletries from
the supermarket in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial center.
Another outlet belonging the chain and one owned by South African mobile
company MTN were vandalized in Ibadan city in southwest Nigeria on Tuesday
despite appeals from the government for peace.
Many other stores owned by Nigerians were also plundered in the raids.
The Nigerian arm of MTN, Africa's largest telecoms company, closed all
its stores until further notice after some of its outlets were targeted, the
company said.
On Wednesday, police fired teargas to disperse a horde of rioters
gathered outside many South African-owned outlets in Surulere, a bustling
district in Lagos.
Diplomatic
backlash
Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said it was
"deeply disturbing" reports that some Nigerians were attacking South
African companies where Nigerian investors own significant stakes and employ
mostly Nigerians.
Mohammed described it as "a classic case of cutting off your nose
to spite your face."
He added that President Buhari had dispatched a special envoy to convey
his concerns to the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and
Nigeria has pulled out of the on-going World Economic Forum in Cape Town
and also plans to recall its ambassador to South Africa in protest against the
attacks, the country's foreign minister told reporters on Wednesday.
While Nigerian music stars Burna Boy and singer Tiwa Savage have also
weighed in with similar boycotts.
Savage said she would no longer be performing at an upcoming concert in
late September. She said the xenophobic violence provoked the decision.
Burna Boy said he had not visited South Africa since 2017 after a
"xenophobic experience." He vowed not to return until the
government "wakes the f*** up and really performs a miracle."
Angry
mobs
South Africa is facing criticism over a fresh wave of violence against
African immigrants and foreign-owned businesses.
Angry mobs looted, burned and vandalized shops, properties, and
vehicles, after violence flared on Sunday. South Africa police say five people
were killed and 189 people allegedly involved in the violence have been
arrested. Many foreign-owned stores were targeted in the violence.
Xenophobic and anti-immigrant attacks are not new in
South Africa.
Demonstrators forced hundreds of foreigners from their homes and
looted some businesses in Durban in April.
They claimed that foreigners had taken jobs that should have been filled
by locals.
In 2017, violent anti-immigrant protests broke out in the capital
Pretoria and in 2015, several people were killed, and thousands fled after
xenophobic attacks across the country.
Ethiopia's foreign ministry on Wednesday said rioters destroyed
some businesses owned by its citizens in South Africa in the latest
attacks which began in Jeppestown, a neighbourhood in Johannesburg, but has
quickly spread to other areas.
Students in Zambia demonstrated in front of a South African
owned Pick N Pay store on Tuesday in protest against the attacks.
Zambia's transport ministry has also warned truck drivers against
traveling to South Africa until security issues have been resolved.
South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa warned Tuesday that the spate of attacks could trigger
violence against its citizens abroad.
"The attacks on people who run businesses from foreign nationals is
totally unacceptable," Ramaphosa said. “There can be no justification
whatsoever about what people are having a grievance over that they should go
out and attack people from other countries because when they do so here, they
should also know that fellow South Africans will be attacked in other
countries," the President said.
Anger in Nigeria as South Africa xenophobic attacks spark looting
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