The Botswana government has issued a travel warning to its citizens destined for South Africa as violence targeting foreigners increases in that country.
Human Rights Watch Director for Southern Africa region, Dewa Mavinga claims that the unrest erupted when a “Zimbabwean national allegedly killed a police officer in Diepsloot, Johannesburg on 17 January. The killing sparked Xenophobic violence which is raging still.”
The attacks, targeting foreign nationals in South Africa, are likely to affect trade in the region. Botswana, for instance, is dependent on South Africa for food imports and petroleum products.
Gaborone-based political analyst Lawrence Ookeditse says all affected countries should voice their concerns to the South African government and bring back their emissaries if necessary.
Meanwhile, Botswana’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, flew to Cape Town on Tuesday for the World Economic Forum on Africa when leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Rwanda have pulled out of the meeting, amid concerns over the deteriorating situation.
Violence targeted at foreign nationals and their businesses also erupted in South Africa last year and HRW in its World Report 2020 attributed the violence to economic insecurity, poverty, high unemployment and rhetoric by government officials, among other factors, led to the xenophobic violence, said the report.
More: VOA News
these foreigners are in sa they dont want to be here is because africa is ruled by evil liberation movements who are thieves in zimbabwe its because the evil au justified the murderous regime zanupf to be in power and the poor masses suffers those gvt like zimbabwe must be ashamed the politicians are all educated fools who are killers and knows nothing about politics when ever they take over everything collapses these foreigner issue is created by evil au ans oau who protect evil regimes
In my view Botswana Government Officials such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs should engage one on one with the same in South Africa to raise concerns as to the number of Batswana citizens that die and get robbed/ hijacked in RSA vs the number of South African citizens that equally get affected for the same reasons in Botswana then demand answers and punitive actions to be taken against their Countries perpetrators as this is so unfair and affects business done between the two Countries.
This is very true. I had 3 buses stolen which were never recovered. Only lead was that they crossed to Mozambique. No trace til now. Why are we so quiet about this as Botswana and it would be very informative to get statistics on all these crimes committed against our citizens. Like how many Botswana cars get stolen in South Africa in a year. This is very disheartening coz we go there to bring business but we get attacked and our belongings taken from us. It’s like it’s just accepted that it’s fine and normal. Our government should please raise concern about this as we don’t do the same to foreigners who come to our country…
This is very true. I had 3 buses stolen which were never recovered. Only lead was that they crossed to Mozambique. No trace til now. Why are we so quiet about this as Botswana and it would be very informative to get statistics on all these crimes committed against our citizens. Like how many Botswana cars get stolen in South Africa in a year. This is very disheartening coz we go there to bring business but we get attacked and our belongings taken from us. It’s like it’s just accepted that it’s fine and normal. Our government should please raise concern about this as we don’t do the same to foreigners who come to our country…
When a South African citizens kill foreigners because a foreign citizen killed a South African Policeman, the killer should be punished using South African laws for killing a Policeman regardless of the killer’s country of origin. When South Africans citizens kill foreigners, it is nothing but revenge and taking the law into their hands. There are South Africans in other African Countries, whether diplomats or not and the Citizens of those other countries should kill the diplomats too for they a fair game for revenge killing as the foreigners are being killed in South Africa by mobs.