It’s wrong to say foreigners are criminals – Gigaba
JOBURG – Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba said leaders must be cautious and avoid making pronouncements that could incite violence against foreigners.
Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba has warned leaders from making negative comments about foreigners. Gigaba said leaders have a responsibility to be measured in their public pronouncements, urging them to stop making irresponsible statements for the sake of being popular.
“Saying we want to clean out Johannesburg of illegal immigrants or labelling them as to be messing up Johannesburg is wrong,” he said. According to Gigaba, such statements incite vigilantism that could lead South African communities to take the law into their own hands.
Minster Malusi Gigaba with MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane and Provincial Police Commissioner, General Deliwe de Lange.
He said leaders should be aware of the fact that, as a result of what they say, there could be lives lost and properties destroyed. Although Gigaba didn’t call out Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, it sounded like these comments were directed to him. During Mashaba’s 100 days in office, the mayor said he will not allow Johannesburg to be hijacked by criminals who had come into the country illegally.
Gigaba said non-documented migrants should not be treated as criminals and added that pronouncements that foreigners are criminals, was wrong.
The minister said the nationals from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) must be treated in accordance with the country’s laws, human rights and the Constitution.
A high-level government delegation had a walkabout in areas where many foreigners live and gather. Officials encouraged foreigners to abide by South African laws.
Gigaba was speaking in Yeoville on 13 February where he was part of a high-level government delegation team which included the Department of Community Safety MEC, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane and Provincial Police Commissioner, Deliwe de Lange. The outreach programme targeted areas populated by migrants and Malobane said they wanted to use the opportunity to engage with foreigners and encourage them to respect South African law. The MEC also said they wanted to encourage South Africans to learn how to live harmoniously with immigrants in their communities.
Most foreigners in Yeoville used the opportunity to voice their dissatisfaction with the poor service that they receive from Home Affairs. A Nigerian told Gigaba that he frequents offices in Pretoria (Marabastad) to get his documents sorted but he is never assisted. Gigaba, however, told him to stick to the return dates given to him, saying this will save him from having to make unnecessary trips.
Nkosi-Malobane said this was not a once-off event, but said it will be sustained. She highlighted that her department will continue with raids and other crime-fighting initiatives, specifically targeting prostitution, drugs and human trafficking in other ares in an effort to turn Gauteng into a much safer province.
The delegation also visited Hillbrow, Mayfair and Rosettenville.
