President Cyril Ramaphosa’s special envoys after xenophobic attacks: What you need to know

16 September 2019 - 10:06 By Unathi Nkanjeni
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President Cyril Ramaphosa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Image: GCIS

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed special envoys, who will be sent to African countries to allay fears after the recent spate of xenophobic attacks.

This after foreign and SA-owned shops were looted, while people called for an end to drug syndicates.

The team, led by former energy minister Jeff Radebe, will visit strategically significant countries across the continent to brief their leaders on the steps Ramaphosa's government is taking to combat xenophobia.

The team will visit Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

“The special envoys will deliver a message from President Ramaphosa regarding the incidents of violence that recently erupted in some parts of SA, which have manifested in attacks on foreign nationals and destruction of property,” presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said in a statement.

According to Diko, the special envoys are tasked with “reassuring fellow African countries that SA is committed to the ideals of pan-African unity and solidarity”.

“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,” she said  

Number of deaths

Ten of the 12 people killed in the attacks were South Africans.

According to News24, defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula gave these statistics in a briefing to the media on behalf of justice and security cluster ministers in parliament on September 10.

EWN reported that police minister Bheki Cele said this number could change once investigations were concluded.


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