IN THE PRESS

AFRICANS share the same roots, identity and history.

They need to always be cognisant of the lurking flames of hate that are always flickering beneath the surface, ready to devour them and what they stand for.

The xenophobic attacks that keep popping up in South Africa every now and then are more than just sibling rivalry, they seem to be serving some grandmaster elsewhere.

We have seen this horrific movie before, back in 2008, and again last year. The déjà vu is always disgusting — South Africans wielding axes, blades, stones, etcetera and foreigners — black foreigners for that matter — being attacked, some killed, others fleeing back to their countries of origin.

It’s a good thing that no Zimbabwean life has been lost during the latest spate.

We like the fact that this time around, authorities have moved swiftly to address the problem and are speaking and acting strongly against it.

SA’s Home Affairs Minister Mr Malusi Gigaba has assured fellow Africans staying in the Rainbow nation that they are safe, with perpetrators getting arrested.

Surprisingly, despite all these efforts, the agenda-pushing private media keeps trying to stoke the dying flames.

Instead of using a current picture of the events in SA, the Daily News opted for a horrendous file picture from 2015.

Could it be proof that things might be not as bad as some few people would want us to believe?

Meanwhile, the self-ordained custodians of human rights have remained mum.

The silence from the usually outspoken Western countries is deafening.

Could it be that it serves their agenda when Africa tears itself apart?

Xenophobia must be condemned in the strongest terms, it is unacceptable.

No amount of frustration can justify any attack on another being. Besides, this world is one global village where there should be free interaction across borders for the benefit of everyone.

However, there is no need to exaggerate any such sad occurrence for whatever political reason.