Tuesday April 21
MBOMBELA – For at least one of the city’s residents, the temporary closure of the Mozambican border on Friday was the most terrifying experience of his life.
The Ressano Garcia Border Post was closed that morning after vehicles with South African registration plates had been attacked in Mozambique. A crowd had gathered just past Ressano Garcia, blocking the EN4. Cars attempting to enter from the Lebombo Border Post were then stopped.
The barricade was in response to attacks in South Africa against foreign nationals in various areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng over the past two weeks.
At first the protesters didn’t want South Africans to enter the country. Later, before the police intervened, South Africans were prevented from leaving, with their vehicles being attacked with rocks and planks.
One man who travels between Mbombela and Maputo on business every week, spent Thursday night in Maputo. He wished to remain anonymous, but said a friend woke him in the early hours of Friday, warning him to get out of the country. He said he thought he was just drunk, but when he arrived at his place of business an employee told him the same thing.
On his way to the border he stopped about five kilometres before Ressano Garcia where he phoned all six of the runners he regularly paid to get his passport stamped, and they too told him, “Don’t come now, they are going to hurt you”.
Luckily he ran into a friend who was relatively well-known around Ressano Garcia. He took the wheel, sticking his head out of the car window and when the crowd saw him, the armed people backed off.
The police arrived at around the same time and calmed the situation. The border was reopened shortly afterwards at about 11:00, he said.
“It was the craziest, scariest thing I have ever experienced. There is a crowd running at you, and you are basically defenceless,” the businessman stated. His car was undamaged and he said his shop had suffered no damage either.
Mr Fernando Lima, editor of the Maputo-based Savannah, said at least two Mozambicans were arrested after shots had been fired into the air on the scene, but things had calmed down.
“There is definitely a negative feeling towards South Africans, but I am not aware of anyone who was beaten up or harassed at that level.”
According to Lima, the Mozambican Government had evacuated some of its citizens by bus from camps around Durban. “There are about 100 people who were returned.”
Most of them have returned home to their families, with the exception of two families who live in the farther-away provinces and were staying in a camp in Maputo.
South African employees of several international companies have in turn left Mozambique. On Friday Sasol spokesman Mr Alex Anderson said employees of service providers working on Sasol projects in Mozambique had joined in protests against South Africans.
“We have had no cases of violence at our sites and the situation remains calm. As a precautionary measure, Sasol and its service providers will facilitate the phased, temporary exit of approximately 340 South Africans from our operations in Mozambique back to South Africa. As a result projects site work has been halted for the time being.”
Anderson said operations at their central processing facility in Temane and the gas-fired power plant, CTRG, in Ressano Garcia, were running as normal.
Lima added that calm had been restored and that the government had been clear in telling Mozambicans not to retaliate against South Africans. “I don’t think there will be more disruptions. They have made their point. But if the situation in Durban gets worse, you could expect more.”
BHP Billiton SA, Corporate Affairs Vice President Lulu Letlape says, “Operations at Mozal continue as normal and employees are at work. However, we are monitoring the developments closely and are advising all employees about travel and any further developments. The safety of all our staff is of utmost importance to us and we always have all contingency plans in place.”
Ms Dawn Bolitho, Sub-Saharan Africa marketing and communications manager for Kentz says, “The safety and security of our employees is paramount. We already have plans in place to mitigate any risks to our project teams. For security reasons it is not possible to disclose further details.”
Sasol to evacuate employees over unrest in Mozambique – Friday April 17, 15:20
LEBOMBO BORDER POST – Sasol has announced that it will be moving its South African employees from its operations in Mozambique.
This follows employees of service providers working on Sasol projects in Mozambique joining in the protests against South Africans over the recent reported incidents of violence against foreign nationals in South Africa.
According to Mr Alex Anderson, head of group communications at Sasol, there have been no cases of violence at their sites.
“As a precautionary measure, Sasol and its service providers will facilitate the phased, temporary exit of approximately 340 South African nationals from our operations in Mozambique, back to South Africa. As a result projects site work has been halted for the time being.”
- Read more here.
Lebombo Border Post open, traffic moving after shots fired earlier – Friday April 17, 13:45
Rumours of shots that were fired at the Lebombo Border Post have been confirmed by a source on the Mozambican side of the post. The source who sells third party insurance says crowds gathered since yesterday as a retaliation against the xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa.
The crowds demanded that no South African entered the country and also didn’t want Mozambicans to enter South Africa. According to him things got heated this morning and about two hours ago several shots were fired when a vehicle tried to drive past the picketing crowds. He couldn’t confirm whether anyone was injured. He said that “it was tense” for a few hours but that things have returned to normal and traffic is slowly moving through the border again.
Information in the public domain is still confusing and no formal statements by either the police of any national department has been released on the situation.
Lowvelder and Corridor Gazette will keep you posted via our two reporters at the border.
Lebombo Border Post closed, SA trucks attacked in Mozambique – Friday April 17, 12:00
All vehicles have been stopped from crossing the Ressano Garcia Border Post into Mozambique in interest of their own safety. Trucks with South African registration plates have been stoned. A volatile crowd of about 200 Mozambicans has barricaded the N4 about four kilometres east of the Resano Garcia border post, where there is a truck stop. It is suspected that this action in related to the Xenophobic attacks which have erupted in various areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng this week.
Read full story on Corridor Gazette: https://corridorgazette.co.za/185565/lebombo-border-post-closed-sa-trucks-attacked-in-Mozambique/
