These protesters were given political cover by Jacob Zuma’s MK Party and March and March, which are effectively pursuing the same agenda. The MK Party explicitly declared that even Africans who are legally documented must leave South Africa. These protesters have simply acted on that message. They listened to their political leaders and went out to intimidate, harass and target Africans who are lawfully in the country.
This is exactly what is turning South Africa into a laughingstock in the eyes of the world. It hands ammunition to its critics, including countries such as Israel and political figures like Donald Trump, who point to scenes like these and argue that South Africa is descending into lawlessness.
If people claim they are protesting against illegal immigration but then use that protest to loot businesses, harass and intimidate Africans who are legally in South Africa, as has been reported in this news reports, then this has nothing to do with illegal immigration. It is xenophobia. It is Afrophobia. That is precisely what those terms mean.
It is deeply disturbing to watch South Africa take this dark turn, where black Africans are persecuted simply because they are African, even when they have the legal right to live and work in the country. This is not law enforcement. It is prejudice dressed up as activism.
We warned from the very beginning that this movement was being driven by hatred of black Africans, not by a genuine concern for the rule of law. We were insulted, mocked and dismissed. Today, those who doubted us need only look at what is happening. The evidence is now in plain sight.
My greatest gripe with today is that it isn’t about foreign nationals in this country illegally.
It is about BLACK Africans in this country.
It is a funded function of an international conspiracy against South African sovereignty and bears the hallmarks of a third force. Again.
Remember that for as long as South Africa stands against this, Israel will stop at nothing to destabilize the country. I say this with my chest out. Those who know, know.
https://t.co/nyIEGxzGhs
@GovernmentZA@CyrilRamaphosa@SAPoliceService@SANDF_ZA i know you saw how Iran 🇮🇷 dealt with foreign sponsored terrorism protests. Nobody ____ absolutely nobody can hold the state at ransom. People have made their grievances clear, they must wait for GVNMT to do its job.