South Africa Begs Nigeria, Pledges To Punish Perpetrators Of #XenophobicAttacks

The government of South Africa has pleaded with Nigeria and other nations in Africa affected by the ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Emily Nkoana-Mashabane, who met with Ambassadors and High Commissioners from African countries in South Africa, noted that


“it is therefore with a deep sense of pain and regret that we as the South African Government humbled ourselves before the African diplomatic community; and we expressed, through them, our heartfelt apologies to the African continent and people for the actions of those of our citizens who have behaved in a shameful manner”.
“In the new Constitution of our free and democratic South Africa, we made a promise to ourselves and to the world that we would remain committed to the values of human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms, non-racialism, non-sexism and the rule of law”.
“Furthermore, at the core of our foreign policy is the commitment we have made to the world that we will always prioritise Africa in all our endeavours because we are an integral part of the African continent”.
“South Africa’s transition to democracy was one of the world’s most iconic testimonies of tolerance and peaceful co-existence, ”
“The South African Government will also do everything within its power to ensure the safety of all citizens and foreign nationals irrespective of their status. South Africa is a multicultural society that welcomes and promotes interaction among people of different backgrounds,” she said.
“It is in this regard that South Africa has since the advent of democratic governance in 1994, worked cordially with fellow African countries to consolidate bilateral relations that are flourishing politically, economically and socially”.
“Ubuntu is the central concept of social and political organisation in the African global outlook, consisting of the principles of sharing and caring for one another.
This is better captured in the Sepedi adage Motho ke motho ka batho, which means, generally speaking, that to be human is to affirm one’s humanity by recognising the humanity of others and establish mutually respectful relations with them,” she said.