Three Killed in Mossel Bay Xenophobic Violence Over Undocumented Migrants

Mozambique stated that five of its nationals were killed in xenophobic attacks in South Africa at the weekend. The government said efforts were under way on Tuesday to repatriate hundreds of its citizens. South African police confirmed that two Mozambicans died in violence in Mossel Bay.

The two deaths are the first killings officially linked to a wave of anti-migrant protests sweeping the country. Violence broke out on Friday in Mossel Bay. The Mozambique government’s media office said seven Mozambican citizens had died after the violence, with five deaths a direct consequence of the attacks and two resulting from a road accident while travelling in a private vehicle on their way back to Mozambique.

South African police told AFP that two Mozambican nationals aged 27 and 43 were killed in an informal settlement attached to Mossel Bay from multiple injuries from assault. In the early hours of Sunday, police found the body of an 18-year-old South African who had been stabbed to death in the same area.

Mossel Bay’s mayor Dirk Kotzé voiced deep concern and dismay at the current xenophobic attacks where people have been murdered, houses burned and families displaced.

The national broadcaster SABC said tensions in Mossel Bay erupted over allegations that undocumented migrants were being employed by construction companies. About 55 shacks were torched in Mossel Bay. One Mozambican national, Dolinda Mabunda, told the Mossel Bay Advertiser: “We were still inside when people started burning down our house.

He said he had lost all his possessions in the unrest. The Mozambique government said 300 Mozambican nationals had returned home on Saturday. Just over 500 Mozambican nationals have been sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province, and as of 1 June the process of their repatriation to Mozambique is already under way.

A citizen-led organisation demanded that undocumented foreign nationals exit South Africa by 30 June. Vigilante groups have been checking the documentation of foreign nationals and forcing small businesses run by non-South Africans to close. Hundreds of foreign nationals from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Somalia sought protection in Durban last month.

Locals were going door-to-door in Durban to tell foreign nationals to leave by the end of the month. Ghana evacuated about 300 of its citizens from South Africa last week. Nigeria announced repatriation plans for its citizens in South Africa.

Several countries including Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have urged their citizens in South Africa to exercise caution. In 2008, 62 people including 21 South Africans were killed in anti-immigrant riots in South Africa that also displaced thousands. Further outbreaks of xenophobic violence in South Africa followed in 2015 and 2016.

A protest against illegal immigration occurred in Durban on 20 May.