A team of Special Envoys has been dispatched by President Cyril Ramaphosa to several African
countries, to deliver a message of reassurance in the light of the recent attacks on foreign
nationals in South Africa.
The Special Envoys will deliver a message from President Ramaphosa, regarding the incidents
of violence that recently erupted in some parts of South Africa, which have manifested
in attacks on foreign nationals and destruction of property.
The Special Envoys are tasked with reassuring fellow African countries, that South Africa
is committed to the ideals of Pan-African unity and solidarity.
The Special Envoys will also reaffirm South Africa’s commitment to the rule of law.
The team, appointed by President Ramaphosa, began their assignment on Saturday 14 September
2019, and departed South Africa to deliver messages of solidarity to several Heads of
State and Government across the African continent.
The team, comprising Jeff Radebe, Kingsley Mamabolo and Khulu Mbatha, will visit Nigeria,
Niger, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia.
The Special Envoys will brief governments in the identified African countries, about
the steps that the South African government is taking to bring a stop to the attacks,
and to hold the perpetrators to account.
The communique from the Presidency comes a day after Ramaphosa was booed at the memorial
service for the late Robert Mugabe in Harare on Saturday.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that there was a problem in his country, and he apologised to those
caught in the sporadic violence, that has sparked across parts of South Africa over
the past two weeks.
These are the words of Ramaphosa.
"I stand before you as a fellow African, to express my regret, and to apologise for what
has happened in our country".
A Zimbabwean from Harare, Ellen Chimz, said she was happy to hear the apology of the South
African President, and she explained why she participated in the booing of Ramaphosa earlier
on.
These are the words of Ellen Chimz.
"We are very angry about what South Africans are doing; we must unite, not kill one another.
We are human beings like them.
They must not kill people like dogs".
Another Zimbabwean native of Harare, Malik Mpereki, dismissed the apology, raising concern
over the lives of roughly 20% of the Zimbabwean nation, who have headed south, seeking better
opportunities amid a struggling economy, and a battle to find good employment.
This is what Malik Mpereki said.
"An apology is not sufficient, it needs more action, we need arrests, to show there is
a personal feeling, a state motive to ensure our brothers in South Africa are safe".
Malik Mpereki also criticised South Africa's intelligence, saying it felt like it was not
responsive enough, when attempting to counter, or address the ongoing spate of violence.
Finally, an elderly Zimbabwean, Jerry Dearo, said there was no room for xenophobia on a
continent that needed to work together to achieve true liberation and prosperity.
He indicated that President Ramaphosa should continue with the apology, apologise to all
countries, and South Africans should never do that again.
Please check in the description box below, for the links to the sources of this report.
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