Joburg mayor unapologetic

Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba has doubled down following accusations of xenophobia, saying on CNBC Africa he has “nothing to apologise for”.

He said on Twitter that rather than him apologising for the attacks, the country should apologise for not doing enough about international drug syndicates.

“The country owes an official apology to thousands, if not millions, of our young girls who are turned into forced prostitution by international drug syndicates. We are not going to turn a blind eye on such evil crime,” he said.

The Joburg mayor appears to be linking human trafficking to the migration of foreign nationals to South Africa.

Requests for clarification were sent to his office and no response had been received at the time of publication.

His tweet was in response to one from CNBC Africa, which included a clip of an interview in which Mashaba was asked whether he would apologise, as President Cyril Ramaphosa had done.

“There’s nothing for me to apologise [for]. We have the responsibility to get the president to get home affairs [to account for] the documentation [of foreign nationals]. What do you expect me to apologise for?” Mashaba said in the interview, which was broadcast on Tuesday.

Ramaphosa apologised for the latest xenophobic attacks at the memorial service for Robert Mugabe in Harare last Saturday.

“I stand before you as a fellow African to express my regret and apologise for what has happened in our country. What has happened in South Africa goes against the principles of the unity of the African people that presidents Mugabe, Mandela, Tambo and the great leaders of our continent stood for,” Ramaphosa said.

On Monday in Abuja, former energy minister Jeff Radebe apologised to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari for the attacks, on behalf of Ramaphosa.

Johannesburg and surrounding areas had been rocked by deadly attacks on foreigners, with many directed against Nigerian-owned businesses and properties.

At least 12 people were killed in the violence that left hundreds of shops destroyed. Ten of the people killed were South Africans, the government has said.

No Nigerians were killed, according to South African authorities, but the violence fuelled diplomatic tensions between the continent’s two leading nations and prompted reprisal attacks against South African firms in Nigeria.

– Additional reporting by News24 Wire