The Sunday News
Beyond the violence in our streets is the violence in our hearts. Hostility, hatred, despair and indifference are at the heart of a growing culture of violence, opined the Catholic Church when commenting on violence in the US, a statement which, however, summarises the happenings across the Limpopo as well.
The media was awash last week with stories of how South Africans in Pretoria, also known as Tshwane, had turned the capital of Mzansi into a war zone, barricading streets, burning down busses and trucks, stoning buildings and looting shops belonging to foreign nationals after disagreements over a ANC mayoral candidate for the city in the forthcoming local government elections.
In the melee, 23 Johannesburg-bound Zimbabweans were reportedly robbed of their cash and goods by rogue South Africans while the Eagle Liner bus they were travelling in was burnt to a shell. Eagle Liner owner, Ghalib Ismail confirmed the incident, telling local media that the bus was from Bulawayo.
“It’s true, our bus was attacked by protestors in Tshwane on their way to Johannesburg and passengers were robbed of all their belongings before the bus was set ablaze. We managed to take them (passengers) to Hammanskraal Police Station for safety and now, they have been released, so they can continue with their journey.”
South African police told the media that by Wednesday they had shot dead two people and arrested more than 50 people suspected of looting shops and damaging property. Residents of Pretoria’s townships started setting cars and buses alight on Monday night after the ruling ANC named a candidate in the Tshwane municipality where the capital city is located. The candidate was not received well by some party members, resulting in revolts.
The incidents come after South Africans have over the years exhibited a high degree of intolerance and violent tendencies.
Only last year, foreigners, many of them from other African countries, were attacked by crowds blaming them for taking “their” jobs and business. In recent years, acts of xenophobic attacks left many dead, some wounded and rendered homeless.
We note that the social fabric in the neighbouring country is being torn apart by a culture of violence that also affects its visitors. While the choice of who should take up which position of authority remains the prerogative of South Africans as they are a sovereign nation, we believe they still have an obligation to ensure safety of their visitors and even foreigners doing business in their country. They can ensure that security by maintaining peace and choosing to follow dialogue to solve their disagreements rather than resorting to violence which then spreads like fire, in the process attracting hard core criminals who seize the opportunity to engage in criminal activities as witnessed last week.
As the stories were doing rounds on social and main stream media, some people said the South Africans were brave to fight for what they believed in, but we believe there is no such bravery. In fact, there is no honour in destroying property, looting shops and robbing travellers. That is criminal, period. We implore Zimbabweans, the rest of the continent and the world to shun such barbaric tendencies.
