Ten cars torched as xenophobic violence erupts in Soweto

It began as a peaceful demonstration in Orlando West, Soweto. 

Residents had gathered on the streets on Thursday afternoon, upset by the recent Constitutional Court judgment on asylum seekers. 

According to community leader Tshepo Mposule, residents were angered by the judgment and subsequent Home Affairs directive, which stated that foreign nationals should be allowed to apply for asylum regardless of whether they had entered the country legally.

“People are really angry because they came here peacefully to say that the issue of illegal migration needs urgent attention from our government,” said Mposule. “On hearing about the court judgment, they came to voice out their dissatisfaction, and this was directed to the government of the day, so they went to Home Affairs.”

The march to the Home Affairs offices went according to plan, Mposule said, with the community remaining peaceful.

Then things changed. Some members of the community began looking for foreign-owned shops with the intention of shutting them down.

Three shops had been closed when trouble broke out.

According to Mposule, the crowd had moved to a corner shop when a car carrying several armed foreign shop owners arrived.

The confrontation unfolded in the presence of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD). Attempts to contact JMPD spokesperson Superintendent Xolani Fihla were unsuccessful.

Community members demanded that the shop owners open their businesses, but they refused, said Mposule.

Stones were then thrown.

“What led to the torching of cars was the throwing of stones by the foreign shop owner ... at residents. The residents then retaliated,” said Mposule.

He added that two residents and one foreign shop owner were arrested by the police, but the police have yet to confirm this. 

“The last straw for the residents was when the foreign shop owners fired shots at [them]. The community retaliated, and the foreign shop owners began to retreat,” said Mposule.

‘We are disappointed’

“Things were not supposed to escalate to this level because this was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration. Unfortunately, the residents became angry, and they started torching the cars. About 10 cars were set alight, and we are really disappointed, because I repeat, this was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration.”

Witnesses said some rioters looted bottles of methylated spirits from one of the spaza shops and used them to set the cars alight.

A single mother who asked not to be named told Daily Maverick she was shocked when she returned home late that afternoon to find the area in chaos.

For her, the foreign-owned shops are a lifeline.

“Where will we buy things for the children’s lunch tins tomorrow morning? Where will I buy bread for the kids? I usually buy it here, which means tomorrow I’ll have to go to Dube in the morning to get bread for the children. If I had known I would come back to find the shops closed, I would have bought my children’s bread at Bara,” she said.

But many in the community blamed the foreign shop owners for the violence.

“It’s the Somalians who started shooting at community members; the JMPD intervened, and the Somalians [sic] ran and left their cars behind,” said Orlando resident Zakhele Ndaba (41).

“Our government is lacking. Why is the government failing to fight for its own people? I also want to go to Somalia. I want to go to Nigeria and do whatever I need to do, then return home. But I cannot get there and set up a home and then end up shooting at Nigerians or Somalians [sic],” said Ndaba.

“They are free and are committing crimes. I wouldn’t commit a crime in their country because I would have gone there legally and would be scared that I would be traced and arrested. They, on the other hand, are shooting at the community because they have no papers and they know they will not be traced,” Ndaba added.

‘They must leave’

“Our government and our President, Cyril Ramaphosa, must fix our country, and he must tighten the law to all foreigners,” said Orlando resident, Xolani Khumalo (46).

“We do not want them to stay here. If they are here for school, they must finish school and leave and not stay behind without the right papers because that will exacerbate the ongoing conflict,” Khumalo said.

He said he had no objection to documenting foreign nationals already in the country so that, if they committed crimes, they could be traced.

The police confirmed that those who were arrested will be charged with malicious damage to property and arson.

The acting national police commissioner, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, warned both citizens and foreign nationals that police would not tolerate lawlessness. 

“We will not allow violence, the torching of vehicles, destruction of property or attacks on people to continue. Anyone who chooses to break the law will be dealt with decisively, without fear or favour. Those behind the torching of vehicles will be pursued. Those responsible for acts of violence and destruction will be identified, investigated and, where sufficient evidence exists, arrested and brought to book,” she said. 

She had arrived in the aftermath of Thursday’s violence in Soweto. There had also been similar violence in Durban. 

“The right to raise concerns and to protest does not give anyone the right to commit crime. Legitimate grievances must be pursued through lawful and constitutional processes,” she added. 

“We have seen 10 vehicles burnt in Soweto, while 14 vehicles have been torched in Durban. These are serious incidents. In KwaZulu-Natal, three foreign nationals have been arrested,” said Dimpane. DM