In a video posted on his official Twitter handle, President Ramaphosa said the violence against foreigners was unacceptable.
“I would like to condemn the violence that has been spreading around a number of provinces in our country in the strongest terms, the attacks on people who run businesses who are foreign nationals is something that is totally unaccepted it’s something we cannot allow….” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa added that ‘the people of our country want to live in harmony; whatever concerns or grievances we may have, we need to handle them in a democratic way. There can be no justification for any South African to attack people from other countries.”
A section of the netizens were, however, not impressed by President Ramaphosa ‘late response’.
“Where the hell have you been??!!” one user posted.
“is this all you have to say ??? where's the solution ?? you took enough time to come with what we already know ... what were you doing all this time in silence???? Perhaps it was tea-time who knows !!” another one posted.
“Ok so you finally said something.. Good.. Now do something.. It's time to act.. No more talking, we need to act.. ACT MR PRESIDENT ACT NOW” one user also posted.
On Monday, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said 91 people had been arrested in and around Johannesburg over the past two days amidst a spate of violence and looting of shops owned by foreign nationals.
The Xenophobic violence started in Pretoria last week, following an apparent shooting of a taxi driver by a drug dealer, The South African reported.
Several shops were looted and burnt, leaving a trail of destruction in South Africa’s volatile capital city. The violence and looting soon spread to Johannesburg where more foreign-owned shops were looted.
The Zambian government last week issued a travel advisory, warning its truck drivers to avoid travelling on South Africa’s major routes on Monday, amid threats of violence in the haulage sector targeting foreigners.
