Xenophobic mobs strike Kathorus
Spaza shops owned by foreign nationals were looted by an angry mob in Kathorus.
The looting of shops, owned mostly by Ethiopians and Somalians, started late at night on September 3 and continued on September 4.
It is alleged that the looting was a result of the shooting incident that happened in Pretoria a few days ago, where a South African taxi driver was allegedly shot dead by a foreign national. It is believed that the taxi driver was trying to stop the foreign nationals from selling drugs to school children. One of the foreign nationals allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the taxi driver dead.
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The incident enraged the taxi drivers and locals and they retaliated by looting the foreign-owned shops.
The chaos has now spread to other places around Gauteng, including Kathorus.
This has led to many shops around Kathorus being looted and owners of these shops fleeing their shops for their safety.
Some community members, like Michale Sibeko, are blaming the attacks on the ANC-led government for not limiting the number of foreigners who are coming into South Africa. Sibeko
said foreigners do not get taxed and when opening their businesses they do not employ the locals.
“The apartheid government was right by allowing foreigners to have a certain number of registered businesses that were required to employ a certain number of South Africans. So people are angry because they feel they were let down by their own government.
“I still do not condone the fact that the shop owners are now linked with an incident that happened in Johannesburg, where a drug lord shot and killed a taxi driver,” said Sibeko.
Themba Meso, ANC treasurer of Grace Flathela Zone, said they are taking full responsibility as a governing party.
“But we do not support crime and looting of shops. In the past 23 years we have been working hard in building this country’s economy. Not even a single country in the world can build its economy with only the people from its own country. We need people from outside to come and invest their skills,” said Meso.
Meso said the ANC stood against what was happening and that they saw it as a crime. “We also do not condone foreigners selling expired and fake products.”
Daniel Sadoro from Ethiopia, who owns Bafana Bafana Spaza Shop in Mailula, Vosloorus, said he was still shocked with what happened.
“I don’t know what to do because my life is here in Mailula. I have been running this business for over seven years. I am here as a person who wants to make life better for himself. I am not a criminal. I do not know why people associate us with drug dealers. Despite everything that happened, I still love the community of Mailula and I hope when the situation dies down I will come back and reopen my business here,” said Sadoro.
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In terms of the deployment of police manpower Col Lungelo Dlamini, Gauteng provincial police spokesperson, said, “Katlehong was targeted but due to increased deployments, the attempts to break into the centres around the township were prevented.
“Other suspects were arrested in other areas of Ekurhuleni for possession of stolen goods, possession of unlicensed firearms, murder, attempted murder and public violence.
“In Thokoza, police seized three firearms, one from a landlord and two unlicensed firearms from two foreign nationals who were shooting randomly at a group of people roaming around with the possible intention of looting. This proves that the increased deployment of police from the province worked wonders,” said Dlamini.
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