South Africa deports 97 Nigerians following raids
Following a week of Xenophobic protests, South Africa has deported 97 Nigerians for a number of offences including illegal documentation and drug offences after a series of raids, ENCA reports.
The move was criticised by Nigeria:
“Some of them claimed they were returned for irregular migration offences when the South Africa authority withdrew their voluntary work permits that it had hitherto given to African migrants, and made … work permits more difficult to get,” said Abike Dabiri-Erewa, assistant to Nigeria’s president on diaspora matters.
She also noted that the raids had been arbitrary and that more deportations were likely to follow in the coming days.
In a statement on Tuesday (28 February), President Zuma addressed the recent violence seen in community protests against foreigners this past week. He, however, noted that the protests was being mischaracterised as xenophobia, when in fact they were a result of personal feuds and other crimes, such as drug abuse.
He also did not acknowledge a protest march that was recently held explicitly against foreigners.
The issue has also been addressed by opposition parties most notably the DA’s Herman Mashaba who called on the Department of Home Affairs to seal the country’s borders and ensure that no one comes into the country illegally.
“The minister of home affairs wants to punch this country into chaos. We need to ensure that when people come to Johannesburg‚ they come legally and they respect the laws of this country,” said Mashaba.
“I had a meeting with the Africa Diaspora team and I will work with them to ensure that we hold the minister accountable to ensure that our borders are closed. Our people ought to be given documentation because we cannot live in a city and be able to provide services when people do not have documentation.”
Read: South Africans are not xenophobic says Zuma – as ‘anti-foreigner’ protests continue
Loading ...