Malema, Ramaphosa & Dlamini-Zuma Condemn Durban Xenophobic Attacks

01 April 2019 - 09:17
BY CEBELIHLE BHENGU
Times Live

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma condemned the attacks on foreign nationals.
Image: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Politicians have joined the public in condemning xenophobic attacks in Durban, following recent incidents that saw foreign nationals seek shelter in community halls, mosques and police stations.

Xenophobia continued to dominate news headlines and Twitter trends on Sunday, as President Cyril Ramaphosa, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Julius Malema condemned the attacks.

Foreign nationals who reside in areas such as Sydenham, Jadhu Place informal settlement and Overport were attacked last week.

Speaking at his party's election manifesto launch in the Western Cape on Saturday, EFF leader Julius Malema said the attacks on foreign nationals equate to 'self-hate'.

"Stop your self-hatred, stop attacking our brothers from Africa, our sisters from Africa, we are one thing. You say they are taking your jobs [but] even if we expel them tomorrow, you will still not get a job. There are no jobs in South Africa because whites are refusing to invest money."

Planning and evaluation minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma took to Twitter to plead with South Africans not to attack fellow Africans.

President Cyril Ramaphosa also weighed in on the matter during a presidential dinner in Durban, and said that South Africans must not present themselves as an intolerant people.

"These recent attacks that have been levelled against people from other countries are wrong. They violate everything that our people fought for over many decades. I condemn them in the strongest terms."

'Afrophobia' and 'self-hate' are some of the terms that dominated conversations online as people weighed in on the attacks.