Atleast One Malawian Hacked to Death in SA Xenophobic Attacks

As the sun set on another bloody day of xenophobic violence in Gauteng on Monday, at least 22 people were reported dead, many more injured and 217 arrested for fierce attacks on both foreigners and local residents living in the greater Johannesburg area. The violence had started in Alexandra last week. By Monday it had spread to several other townships, as well as the Johannesburg CBD, as the South African Police Service dispatched experienced officers to the province and the National Intelligence Agency confirmed it was investigating the attacks. Though many foreigners were targeted in mob attacks, causing thousands to flee their homes for the safety of community centres and police stations, South African citizens were also reportedly victimised, with, for example, Pedi and Shangaan people being told by Zulu antagonists to "go back to Limpopo". "We will burn the Shangaans if they don't go back," were the chilling words of a 25-year-old man arrested for public violence in Ramaphosa on the East Rand on Monday as police deployed specialists to stop the xenophobic attacks. "We will fight for this country. We will keep on going, they can't stop us," said the unemployed man, speaking to reporters through the bars of a holding cell at the Reiger Park police station. He said he was proud of destroying a few shacks in the area. "I will be proud to meet the man who started this," he said, adding: "Foreigners are taking our jobs and our wives." "Yes, we are investigating," National Intelligence Agency spokesperson Lorna Daniels told the M&G on Monday afternoon. She declined to divulge further detail about the nature of the investigation or possible leads the agency is probing. Mbeki on Sunday said the attacks should be investigated to "see what lies behind it". "We are interested to find out what could have sparked it off, and maybe we could find out if a particular person instigated it," he told the International Investment Council in Margate. Deadly day Earlier, police recovered the hacked body parts of a Malawian national on a sandy road in Ramaphosa township and, near Primrose, one person with Mozambican identification papers in his pocket was found dead. Two other Mozambicans were seriously beaten. In Zamimpilo, outside Riverlea on the West Rand, at least 50 shacks were burned. Foreign nationals in the area were taken to safety at a community centre. In Kya Sands, an industrial area close to informal settlements, groups of people began throwing stones at each other after a community meeting, but the situation was brought under control, said police spokesperson Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini. In the Jerusalem informal settlement, near Boksburg, police came under fire as they tried to stop a group of about 500 people from looting shops there. Police in Cape Town were identifying possible flashpoints for xenophobic violence and would have units on standby, the city administration said on Monday. "The spread of attacks on refugees and foreign nationals from Alexandra through Gauteng has prompted the city ... to ensure that similar incidents are not instigated on a similar scale in our city," mayoral committee member for safety Dumisani Ximbi said in a statement. He appealed to communities and leaders across Cape Town to discourage any forms of violence or intolerance and to inform the police immediately of any incidents.