Commissioner for Youth Political Participation at the Pan African Youth Union, Mr. Oladele John Nihi has condemned the recent xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa.
In a press statement issued on Monday, Nihi called on law enforcement to arrest the perpetrators of the attacks which started again on 24th of March.
He stated that the Pan-African Youth Union remains unwavering in its insistence on respect for lives irrespective of nationality.
“In recent years, South Africa has been experiencing a concernedly significant increase in violence against foreigners, the majority of whom come from Nigeria, Somalia and other African states.
“Small shops run by migrants are often targeted during these attacks, and no less than 50 persons who they claim are stealing scarce jobs from South Africans and are responsible for the country’s high crime have been killed within the last five years.
“Information made available to us revealed that shops and properties of Nigerians were damaged and burnt during the attacks, Nine Nigerians were injured, while three of them have been hospitalized having sustained life threatening injuries.
“Over 200 foreigners have taken refuge at the police station. Some of the displaced foreigners are Nigerians. Two foreign nationals, whose identities have not been confirmed, have been reportedly killed,” he said.
Xenophobia against migrants from other African countries is not new in South Africa.
The unrest in 2015 in the cities of Johannesburg and Durban claimed seven lives as immigrants were hunted down like animals looking for preys and attacked by gangs. South Africa experienced its worst outbreak of violence against foreigners in 2008, when more than 60 people died.
The PYU Commissioner called for intervention from Government of South Africa and Nigeria urging them to wade urgently into this crisis, especially as the situation could easily escalate further.
He urged the police in South Africa to act against people targeting foreigners.
“The issue is not only about foreign nationals and their rights, but about the safety of all who live in South Africa and the Government must be seen protecting the safety and rights of everyone by taking a tougher stance against the perpetrators and possibly bringing them to book while also putting measures in place to forestall future attacks.
“We call on the South African government to take necessary measures to ensure the safety and protection of all migrants in South Africa. We also appeal to political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations to actively discourage their members from participating in barbaric attacks.
“It is important for South Africa to strengthen the laws which protect immigrants so that citizens who want to attack immigrants will be deterred from doing that. There should be strict laws pushed in place to prosecute all leaders – political, traditional, religious, organizations and others – who incite the citizens against the foreigners. There should be a strict enforcement of the laws of the international bodies like the UN, ECOWAS, EU, AU and others to sanctions state and communities who abuse foreigners living on their lands.”
