Sort out lawlessness, not foreigners

As days go by I am more than convinced that the media is far from being the upright enterprise it presents itself to be.

The recent statement by Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, where he urged Nigerians living in SA to obey the laws, were taken out of context and twisted to offer a meaning which was not a true reflection of his statements.

The media made it clear that Buhari admitted guilt on behalf of Nigerians, in explicit news headlines. That same media made light of the gigantic apology by President Cyril Ramaphosa not only to Nigeria but to the rest of the African continent for . Unless the laws of the country apply differently to locals or foreigners, I do not see the sense in stressing that “Nigerian foreigners must obey the laws”.

The foreigners who commit crime do so in a crime-riddled country. Nigerians are everywhere on earth, why is there no other country that complains about their presence except this one with a high crime rate?

It is a form of condoning these immoral xenophobic attacks when the blame for their occurrence is attributed to foreigners lawlessness. Recently police were pelted with stones during the funeral of a gangster in KwaZuluNatal, but no even a single public outcry from the media or the so-called patriots, was made over this challenge to the sovereignty of the state.

I suppose it is fine and acceptable, if the police are assaulted by locals than by black foreigners. This is another way to say in the future South Africans must provide proof that foreigners did not obey the laws to justify their sick xenophobic attitudes.

On the other hand, we had a sham press conference by the Joburg metro police and some church leaders which insisted that churches obey the law.

Why should churches be the ones that obey by-laws if the rest of society does not? I see no difference between taxi drivers breaking the laws of the road everyday and loud music every Sunday.

Khotso KD Moleko Mangaung