About 70 people died in May 2008, when poor South Africans attacked migrant workers from neighbouring countries, whom they accused of competing with them for social services, causing an escalation to crime levels and stealing their jobs and women.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been growing fears that the violence might return after the 2010 soccer World Cup, which begins tomorrow.
Locals in some of the countrys poorest suburbs are said to have renewed their threats against African migrants, warning them that they will face the full wreath of xenophobia if they did not leave immediately.
MDC Secretary for South Africa, Ngqabutho Dube, told The Zimbabwean this week that the threat was real and accused some aspiring ANC councillors of fuelling it.
From the information we are getting, xenophobic attacks will take place soon after the World Cup in the informal settlements of Alexandra, Thembisa and East Rand, among other suburbs. I would therefore, like to advice Zimbabweans to remain alert.
Aspiring officials campaigning for the ANC here are fuelling this threat by accusing sitting leaders of doing nothing about foreigners, whom they accuse of worsening the plight of South Africans, he said.
Dube added that many South Africans believe that Zimbabweans will not return home even if President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) regime were to lose political power.
South Africans believe that if Zimbabweans are forced out of South Africa violently, they will go back to Zimbabwe and confront the Mugabe regime violently and resolve the political standoff, added Dube, who cast doubt on the South African governments ability to control the violence once it breaks up.
I do not think that the South African government will be able to prevent the xenophobic attacks because the ANC itself seems to be failing to control its own cadres, who carry the partys membership cards. How then will they be able to control ordinary members of the public?
Dube said that his party was, in conjunction with human rights groups, holding meetings with both South Africans and foreigners, which are aimed at debating key issues related to xenophobia, in a bid to hold it back, but still believes that without enough support from the ANC, these would not weigh much.
Post published in: News