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Nduduzo Tshuma, Political Editor 

THE xenophobic attacks on foreigners in South Africa and reprisal attacks in different countries by sympathisers leading to a potential diplomatic war between countries raises an urgent need to deal with the root causes before things get out of hand. 

Seven people have reportedly been killed during xenophobic attacks that erupted in various parts of South Africa on Sunday in a culmination of simmering tensions that had been brewing for months. 

As the violence unfolded, the whole of Africa was shocked to see this happen in South Africa, the last country to gain independence in Africa at the collective sacrifice and support of the continent.

The footage of wanton destruction of property belonging to foreign nationals by South African citizens not only attracted strong condemnation across the continent but heightened tensions that saw reprisal attacks targeting South African institutions in some African countries. 

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari dispatched a special envoy to South Africa to meet President Cyril Ramaphosa to secure the safety of Nigerian citizens and their property.

So fierce were the reprisal attacks in Nigeria that South Africa was yesterday forced to temporarily close its missions in Abuja and Lagos over security concerns. 

South African companies were also forced to close in Nigeria and Zambia after protesters threatened to burn them down in retaliatory attacks.

The emotive issue has caused rifts across all sections of society from politicians to entertainers with explosive exchanges on social media. 

For instance popular Nigerian musician Burna Boy was involved in a war of words with South African rapper AKA over a post that was misconstrued to inflame xenophobic attacks. The war on Twitter resulted in the South African rapper receiving death threats from Nigerians who were telling him not to set foot in the West African nation. 

South African musicians, Mafikizolo, Dr Malinga and Mlindo the Vocalist, who had scheduled shows in Zimbabwe, were all forced to cancel, with Mlindo expressing shame over the behaviour of his fellow South Africans over the attacks.

While Burna Boy vowed never to perform in South Africa, international star Tiwa savage, who also hails from Nigeria, announced that she was cancelling her performance at the DStv Delicious International Food and Music Festival in South Africa.

The Zambian national soccer team also cancelled a friendly match with South Africa billed for Lusaka after the xenophobic attacks and opted instead to host Namibia. 

It is shocking that in less than a week, Africa is experiencing tensions that have a serious potential to cause diplomatic rifts among nations and reverse years of efforts towards integration that the leaders have tried to foster through continental, regional and sub regional groupings. 

It is against this background that the xenophobic attacks in South Africa need to be addressed to make sure that no such incident happens ever again to threaten the unity that has been enjoyed since the collaboration towards the independence of African states. 

At the face of unfolding tensions, solace is taken in the fact that in condemnation of the xenophobic attacks, African governments have also emphasised on the need for unity among nations and their respective citizens.

It is hoped that the leaders, in the aftermath of the recent attacks, will come together and hold serious discussions about the issues that have caused fellow black people to turn against each other. 

It is also hoped that those who hold leadership positions in South Africa refrain from making inflammatory statements that end up torching xenophobic attacks that have led to the death of people and destruction of property. 

A careful study over the years has revealed that every xenophobic incident in South Africa has been preceded by inflammatory statements against foreign nationals by officials who occupy positions of authority. 

Leaders must work to unite people and not divide them. Sowing seeds of divisions sparks chaos that will be hard to contain as has happened in the past five days. 

While there are genuine concerns that some and not all foreign nationals are involved in crime and various forms of social ills in South Africa, it is important to remember that such things should not be solved or attempted to be solved by mob justice but to allow the relevant institutions within that country to deal with them. 

Crime cannot be solved by burning the property of a person who is making an honest living whose crime becomes being a foreign national. 

Important to note is how the xenophobic attacks on fellow African citizens were immediately seized upon by opportunistic elements with a history of puppetry. MDC Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa was on Tuesday chided for trying to use the xenophobic attacks on foreigners of African descent in South Africa to score cheap political points. 

Posting on microblogging site Twitter, Mr Chamisa tried to create a false impression that the xenophobia was only targeted at Zimbabweans living in South Africa and went on to call for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to “help facilitate dialogue” in Zimbabwe. 

This was an attempt by Mr Chamisa to revive his claims that he won the 2018 presidential elections despite the dismissal of his appeal of the poll results by the Supreme Court. However, Mr Chamisa was quickly reminded that the xenophobic attacks in South Africa were far greater than his delusions of having won the 2018 presidential elections. 

Lastly, the silence or indifference of some global powers that have over the years played big brother on African affairs should be a lesson to the continent. It should teach the continent that when the interests of those powers are not directly threatened, they do not care whether Africans bludgeon each other to extinction. Theirs is to protect their interests and it doesn’t matter to them that a black man kills a fellow black man or destroys his property. 

A scholar, commenting on global powers’ delayed response to the Rwanda genocide, said the Rwandan case proved that while powerful nations have interests in as far as what is happening in other countries, they also have non interests.

This is a reminder that African states need each other and none but themselves can achieve the total emancipation of the continent through peaceful co-existence and co-operation.