Alexandra community says elements fuelled xenophobic attacks

Loyiso Langeni

13 July 2015

The Ad Hoc Joint Committee on Probing Violence against Foreign Nationals said, it was informed by the police that criminal elements fuelled the violent attacks against foreign nationals in Alexandra.

The committee met with the Alexandra Police Cluster and traditional leaders over the weekend where the attacks and looting started in April this year.

The committee also cited that, this issue is some of the socio-economic issues that needs to be dealt with in order to curb the spread of violence and crime.

Ad Hoc Joint Committee chair Tekoetsile Motlashuping said we have characterised as committee that these are just attacks on foreigners and they are not xenophobic.

“We have insisted South Africans are not xenophobic and it’s an insult on the South African population to try to suggest that South Africans are xenophobic because Foreign national have lived in this country for a long time without any attacks. 

The impression that that is created is that when you land in to OR Tambo International Airport people attack you. It is not correct and these attacks are not xenophobic they are criminal element” Motlashuping added.