Foreign national attacked
Nothing was stolen, nor was anyone injured during the incident.
A local businessman fears he might have been a victim of a xenophobic attack.
Mr Dereje Debela said he was at his restaurant at the corner of Queen and Langermann streets in Kensington on Monday, January 26, when a chanting crowd broke the windows of his establishment.
“I heard people singing and chanting outside. I then heard glasses breaking. I closed the security gates to my business and after a while there was silence. When I look outside, I could not see anyone,” he said.
Nothing was stolen, nor was anyone injured during the incident.
“Following what is happening in other areas like Soweto, my worry is that the violence is spreading to this side. I do not know why anyone would come and break the windows of my business,” he said.
Mr Debela urged people to stop xenophobic attacks and let the law take its course.
“What is said to have been the reason that sparked the violence was not handled correctly. The Soweto shop owner who thought the boy was involved in the robbery was supposed to call the police. Even those who saw the shop owner allegedly kill the youngster should have called the police. The way it is going now, everyone is painted with one brush. If you are a business person from outside South Africa, you are a killer who has to be killed. And that cannot be right,” he said.
He added that the attacks have sparked fear for many foreigners in the country.
“When one wants to drive around or go and buy stock, we have to call and pray to come back safely. I have been in South Africa for the past 18 years and this is my new home. I have legal papers to operate here. I follow the law and I pay tax as I should. What I am asking is that we live together in harmony. We should be punished for our own sins, not for someone else’s,” said Mr Debela.
The Cleveland SAPS communications officer, Constable Mpho Mashakane, said police officers are currently investigating a malicious damage to property case.
“At present we cannot confirm the motive of the attack. We hope the investigation will shed some light. At present, we have not received any xenophobia reports, but we are on alert. Our officers are ready to deal with any law breakers in our area,” she said.
