Clergymen under the aegis of Catholic Bishops of South Africa have countered the claim by the South African authorities that the violence unleashed on Nigerians and other foreign nationals in the country by some South Africans was not xenophobic.
They said the attacks on Nigerian and other foreign nationals were xenophobic and bore the imprimatur of the South African authorities as police stand by idly while South Africans attacked and looted shops belonging to foreigners.
In a statement by Archbishop Buti Tigagale of the Southern African Catholic Bishop’s Conference Office for Migrants and Refugees on Saturday, the Catholic bishops stated that it was with dismay that they took note of the recent upsurge in violence against foreign nationals.
He stated that the violence started a few weeks ago in the Johannesburg CBD, occurred in Pretoria, and last week again in the Johannesburg CBD, Malvern, Turffontein and Krugersdorp.
Tigagale said, “Once again we receive reports of the authorities doing very little to protect the victims. We received report of police standing by idly in Pretoria while shops were looted and people attacked. Not a single arrest was made on that day.
“Once again the authorities resort to the old explanation: that this is not xenophobia, but the work of criminal elements.
“Let us be absolutely clear – this is not an attempt by concerned South Africans to rid our cities of drug dealers. And this is not the work of a few criminal elements. It is xenophobia, plain and simple,” the clerics declared.
