Nigeria’s high commission in South Africa has urged its citizens there to be cautious following an anti-illegal immigration protest in Eastern Cape province that turned violent. On Monday, activists were holding a peaceful march in the port city of KuGompo (formerly East London). But disorder erupted after a protester said he was attacked by a foreigner, prompting demonstrators to damage several vehicles and shops.
The trouble came amid tension over the recent installation of a Nigerian community leader in the city, who has a traditional title that can be translated as “king of the Igbo people in East London”. Some South Africans in the local area saw this as an attempt to grab political power. Traditional leader Xhanti Sigcawu, who was present at Monday’s march, told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika the installation ceremony had left local chiefs feeling “undermined” as the area was the “territory of the Xhosas”.
South Africa is home to about 2.4 million migrants, just less than 4% of the population, according to official figures. Most come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labour to their wealthy neighbour. A smaller number come from Nigeria.
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Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa which has been accompanied by occasional outbursts of deadly violence, and anti-migrant sentiment has become a key political talking-point. The South African authorities, including KuGompo mayor Princess Faku , condemned Monday’s trouble, which saw 10 vehicles set alight and local and foreign-owned shops looted. “We supported the march because it is part of the efforts of defending our sovereignty but cannot condone violence. Violence doesn’t solve problems… it’s very sad that such an important march was turned into violence and chaos,” Faku, who belongs to the African National Congress, said.
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