© AFP / AFPA South African police forces during a stand off between members of the Somali community and anti immigrant demonstrators, February 24, 2017.
Residents of the township of Atteridgeville were blocked from going to work after protesters threw rocks and burned tires, News24 reported. Police spokesperson Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said they had received reports of several shops being looted, but had yet to confirm the incidents.
News footage for the scene shows police firing rubber bullets at large groups of protesters while other videos show gangs of people roaming the streets armed with sticks, bottles, bricks, and knives.
President Jacob Zuma called for calm ahead of the anti-immigrant march. He condemned the violence and called upon citizens and non-nationals to exercise restraint, unite against crime, and work with the authorities to prevent crime.
"It is wrong to brandish all non-nationals as drug dealers or human traffickers," the president said in a statement. "Let us isolate those who commit such crimes and work with government to have them arrested, without stereotyping and causing harm to innocent people."
Protesters later complained that the media depicted the demonstration as xenophobic when it was actually anti-crime.
One demonstrator told journalist Mpho Raborife it's unfair that foreigners come to South Africa for work when there is such a high level of unemployment in the country. South Africa's unemployment rate currently stands at 26.5 percent.
Last week, homes in Pretoria West were raided by South Africans who alleged they were being used for drug dealing and prostitution. Two houses were set on fire. Earlier this month, at least 10 houses in Johannesburg were set on fire for allegedly being used as brothels and drug dens.
Reader Comments
Africa needs to find its own identity and stop being a mickey mouse continent. It's not only mickey mouse, its leaders are greedy as fuuuuuuu*k and violent to boot too - like neanderthals.... they are the new colonisers of the continent. With such 'expert' self centered psychopathic and hollow leadership at the top, coupled with huge identity issues at the bottom, no wonder the whole place is one big joke.... africans have a lot of pride but my, how hollow it all is given their no where standing in the world.
It's so bad ufos dont even bother to fly over it if you are to believe that ufo map sott posted yesterday... Not even the aliens want anything to do with it. My oh my.... God has abandoned the place, the aliens have, africans themselves have... the rest of the world only want to pillage. Oh my... What a sad state of affairs.
^ Well, that escalated quickly. I won't delete this, regardless that maybe I should. *sigh* Anyway, it's not that Africa needs to find it's own identity, look at the most prosperous, richest country in Africa - Libya. The one leader who stood up to the West, who was able to, and that was NOT ALLOWED. Search SoTT if you are interested, there is much on the rape and pillage of Africa, why there are so many despotic leaders, genocides that were allowed to happen, "revolutions" that ended up putting literally the worst man in charge, etc.
Well I think, when you look at subsaharan Africa, the problems are more fundamental. North Africa with its huge middle eastern and arabic influence can't really be compared one to one with the 'dark' part of the continent.
First, I think... all those borders need to be erased as whoever drew them in the first place didn't care much for stability... there's so much tribalism its ridiculous. In Africa you have tribes, in Europe you have countries.
Imagine if some dude waltzed into Europe and drew borders willy-nilly... lets say so that you have an absurd situation where the UK and France would be one big country. Fuck, wait... they are trying to do that with the EU, look at how that is panning out!!
Also in Africa you have the absurd situation where you have two systems operating which can't mix... from the top you have the western system, including its culture seeping down... from the bottom you have african or tribal customs and traditions seeping up... they collide and result in a mishmash of nothing.. the customs & culture don't develop fully from either direction. You just have a jumbled up mess.
Then the stupid leaders... antiquated neanderthals selling out everything for a quick buck and raining terror all over the place just because, well... they are neanderthals dressed in suits.
God!