South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, was jeered and whistled at, on Saturday, during his speech at Zimbabwe’s ex-Leader, Robert Mugabe’s funeral, before he apologised for the recent xenophobic attacks in his country.
At least 12 people have been killed this month, in a surge in violence and mob attacks against foreign-owned businesses, in and around Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city.
A wave of jeers, boos, and whistles, interrupted Ramaphosa at the Harare National Stadium, as he started his eulogy at the State funeral for Mugabe, who died age 95, last week.
“I stand before you as a fellow African, to express my regret and apologise for what has happened in our country”, Ramaphosa said after one of the organisers tried to calm the crowd.
His comments were met with cheers and blasts of sound horns from the crowd.
South Africa, the continent’s second largest economy, is a major destination for other African migrants. However, they are often targeted by some locals, who blame them for lack of jobs.
With shops and homes continuously burned and looted, and clashes between armed mobs of looters and Police, hundreds of migrants from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, have fled to shelters.
Nigeria’s government has flown around 600 of its citizens home from Johannesburg, after some of them were targeted in the violence.
Source: PREMIUM TIMES