7 things South Africa has lost due to xenophobic attacks

The South Africans perpetuating these acts argue that the foreigners are taking over all the jobs which belong to them. This is not the first xenophobic attack occurring in South Africa.

Other African countries and its citizens have reacted to the attacks in South Africa. Presidents on the continent have condemned the happenings.

However, here are six effects of the xenophobic attacks on South Africa.

1. Zambia FA

Zambia's football association cancelled an international friendly match against South Africa scheduled to take place on Saturday in the capital, Lusaka.

"This is because of the security concerns, you never know what can happen," Football Association of Zambia secretary-general Adrian Kashala, told AFP news agency. "We want to be sure of the security of [the] visiting team," he added.

2. Zambia bans SA music from being played

A popular radio station in Zambia, Hot FM has refused to play any South African music whatsoever.

3. Celebrities boycott South Africa

Nigerian Afrobeats star Burna Boy has vowed to never go to South Africa again until the government "wakes up". In his tweet, he stated that he himself had had his own "xenophobic experiences at the hands of South Africans " in 2017.

Another Nigerian singer, Tiwa Savage, also announced on Twitter that she was pulling out of a concert she had planned to perform at in South Africa in September, condemning "the barbaric butchering of my people".

4. African leaders boycott the World Economic Forum

The presidents of the DRC, Malawi, Nigeria, and Rwanda will not attend the WEF which will be held in South Africa. It has also been said that other African nations will also boycott the event due to the recent attacks on African nationals in Gauteng.

The World Economic Forum's Elsie Kanza said she was surprised to hear about reports of boycotting.

"One of the leaders - Rwanda - unfortunately, had to cancel his participation last week, before the very unfortunate events [violent protests].

"The World Economic Forum and the South African government teams have been following up on the delegations from the DRC and Malawi because while they indicated that they would be participating they never completed their registration."

5. South Africa embassy in Nigeria closed down

South Africa has closed down its diplomatic missions in the Nigerian cities of Abuja and Lagos following “after receiving reports and threats from some of the Nigerians” said foreign ministry spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele.

He added that “we decided to temporarily close while we are assessing the situation,” adding the missions were shut on Wednesday.

“So we will be monitoring the situation and when we see it necessary to open, we will re-open,” he said.

6. South African-owned businesses looted abroad

In Nigeria, vandals smashed windows to break into the offices of MTN, a South African telecommunications company and stole items including laptops. They also looted retail shops owned by South Africans. A similar situation has happened in Zambia.

7. Nigeria recalls its Ambassador to South Africa

The escalating dispute has seen Nigeria recall its ambassador to South Africa, Ambassador Kabiru Bala.