Foreign shop owners flee Soweto following threats

SOWETO residents yesterday woke up to find foreign shop owners gone and their shops closed following threats of xenophobic attacks.

Some shop owners had received letters that they had to leave Soweto by June 16. Those who had not left had their shops looted in various parts of the township including Naledi and Mapetla. There was heavy police presence all over Soweto with a water tank moving around.

A group describing itself as Dudula was behind the planned raids on foreign nationals in the country illegally and selling drugs.

It was not clear when this group was formed, but it claimed it was not affiliated to any political party.

It simply said it was cleaning up the township. But chants like “away with foreigners” could be heard in the atmosphere.

The group marched around Diepkloof, stopping at various hot spots where houses had been taken over by foreign nationals, where drugs and prostitution were taking place. The issue of South Africans being unemployed and human trafficking came out loudly among the issues the group had. They carried traditional weapons and sjamboks as they moved around the township warning illegal foreigners to vacant in seven days.

The Star spoke to one of the organisers of this campaign, Peter Dimba, who claimed that the campaign was not xenophobic. He said residents were simply doing what police were failing to do.

Dimba and the rest of the protesters marched to the Diepkloof police station where one of their leaders was kept for inciting violence against foreign nationals.

“We are not hijacking June 16, we are tired of talk shows. We are busy glorifying people who were there and some of them were cowards, but we want to make a change on this June 16. No one is touching tangible issues, we don’t want to know what happened in the past, they must tell us what happens today,” Dimba said.

Meanwhile, the veterans of the June 16 Foundation who condemned operation Dudula and government officials held a commemorative event at the Hector Pieterson Museum in Orlando West where a wreath laying ceremony took place.

Speaking at the event, Thabo Ndabeni, a June 16 youth leader said the youth of this generation faced different challenges from his generation. But he cautioned the youth to respond to their challenges in a responsible manner. Joburg mayor Geoff Makhubo said youth unemployment was an issue that the city was trying its best to respond to.