Nigerians not arming to bomb SA, says Gigaba
THERE are no Nigerians arming themselves to bomb South African malls as a means of defending themselves from xenophobic attacks.
This is what Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba told ambassadors of various African countries in Boksburg yesterday.
“We have been made aware that there are video clips circulating, photographs, messages alleging immigrants are mobilising to defend themselves, and that Nigerians are being called upon to arm themselves or preparing to send groups of armed people to SA to defend themselves… They are all a hoax. Not one of them is genuine,” Gigaba said.
He added that these statements were being used to incite hysteria and panic among South Africans and immigrant communities locally and abroad. Gigaba told the 31 ambassadors there was no political motive to the latest outbreak of xenophobia.
“This is not a game. It is not politicking. We need to maintain cool heads amid the storms,” he said, also reassuring the leaders that the government would not tolerate acts of vigilantism and mob justice.
“There is no immigrant in this country, including those who are undocumented, who will become a victim willy-nilly of mobs running amok on the streets… We going to act in a way that protects immigrants in our country by communicating a positive message,” he said.The minister called on all leaders in South Africa and on the continent to refrain from making statements that would worsen the already volatile situation.
Gigaba also told the ambassadors that many South African companies had got away with murder for a long time by flouting immigration policies on labour and said the government was acting against guilty culprits.
He urged other African countries also to shoulder the burden of those who sought refuge in their countries, saying South Africans worked alongside the AU’s accord in promoting freedom of movement on the continent.