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Attacks by some South Africans on black African immigrants in that country have become a routine occurrence.

A year does not pass before it flares up with unfortunate immigrants being stoned to death or set slight, their houses and businesses being looted and burnt.  

This year, the barbaric xenophobic violence erupted in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni on Sunday. Five people had died by yesterday afternoon and police had arrested 189 suspects in connection with the crimes.  

Videos we are seeing on social and mainstream media of South African youths brutalising those they suspected to be foreigners, are horrifying. One in particular showing a youth wielding a huge stone above a sprawling immigrant and hurling it to his head about five times is clearly unsuitable for viewing by those of a nervous disposition.  

We are left wondering how someone, in their right senses, could mete such barbaric violence on another human being. How is that possible? Indeed, the blood-curdling violence as represented by these recordings teaches us sadly that not all human beings are actually human; not all human beings have consciences. If they were human enough and had consciences, that should have told them that the sort of violence they were engaging in was wrong, uncalled for and barbaric.

We therefore, once again categorically condemn the xenophobic violence we are seeing in South Africa. As we make this point, we regret that the perpetrators are a small group of youths whose crude behaviour is dragging every South African through the mud and giving their beautiful country a bad name.  

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, was scathing in his condemnation of his compatriots who are committing crimes against immigrants. 

“There can be no justification whatsoever for our people to attack Africans from other countries,” he said. 

“When they do so here they should know that fellow South Africans will also be attacked in other countries. We’re completely committed against xenophobia and we don’t tolerate such behaviour. It’s completely against the rule of law. People running their businesses are being attacked and their shops are being looted and destroyed. This is completely against the ethos that we as South Africans espouse.”

He commended security forces, particularly the police for stopping further violence from ensuing in a number of places in KZN and Gauteng.

“We want our security forces to carry on doing the work that they’ve been doing and arresting the perpetrators. I’ll be convening the ministers in the security cluster today to make sure that we keep a close eye on these acts of wanton violence and find ways of stopping them,” he said.

We are happy that he has come out so strongly against the senseless violence. We continue to pray that his message will be well received by his people.

Africa has been obviously horrified.  

In a statement released on the African Union website, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat yesterday condemned in the strongest terms, the incidents of violence against nationals of fellow African countries in South Africa, including the looting and destruction of their property

‘‘The Chairperson is encouraged by arrests already made by the South African authorities,’’ read the statement.

‘‘He calls for further immediate steps to protect the lives of people and their property, ensure that all perpetrators are brought to account for their acts, and that justice be done to those who suffered economic and other losses. The Chairperson reiterates the African Union’s Commission continued commitment to support the South African government in addressing the root causes that led to these despicable acts, in order to promote peace and stability, within the framework of the African Union’s longstanding principles of continental solidarity.’’ 

All these years, the violence has been one-sided, immigrants always being on the receiving end. That is bad enough. However, in future, there is a risk that situation could be worse if, as reported elsewhere yesterday, some immigrants said to be Nigerians decide to defend themselves. We have to state that we don’t want that to happen. However, for that not to happen, the attacks on immigrants must not occur in the first place.  

We will not tire to; once again, urge our brothers and sisters in South Africa to understand that migration is inevitable. Yes, they could be unhappy about it, but the manner in which they are expressing their unhappiness is plain wrong.      

They must appreciate that South Africa is independent today, in large measure because of the supreme sacrifices that blacks elsewhere on the African continent made in support of that cause. Countries such as ours, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and Zambia accommodated thousands of African National Congress freedom fighters after they had been hounded out of their country by apartheid.  These countries also spent large sums of money supporting the fight for South Africa’s independence. Zimbabwe and Mozambique were actually destabilised and bombed by apartheid forces resulting in the death of thousands, injuries and destruction of valuable property.   Therefore, black African immigrants don’t deserve to be burnt alive, stoned to death or having their businesses looted and burnt by South Africans whose very existence as a nation came about because of the sacrifices of those immigrants and their governments before 1994.