International relations and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor said the looting and xenophobic violence that rocked the country was not purely directed at Nigerians.
Pandor, speaking to SABC news from New York, where she will attend the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, was responding to calls for compensation to be paid to the victims of xenophobic attacks.
“We need to really have a full assessment of what happened and assess where the particular harm was directed. An impression has been created that primarily the focus of the mob was businesses that were owned by Nigerians. This is not the case. Many South African-owned small businesses were the subject of the looting,” she said.
“It was African people and it was South African blacks, as well as black people from other African countries. All of it was wrong. So I’m not sure from whom we would seek this compensation because we have arrested 794 people.”