This archive report was first published on 4 September 2019.
On September 1, 2019, riots and looting broke out in Jeppestown and Johannesburg CBD, targeting shops owned by foreign nationals, following the death of a taxi driver.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the violence, stating, 'There can be no justification for any South African to attack people from other countries.'
As of September 3, 2019, around 189 people had been arrested by police for looting, and five people had died in the unrest.
Kenyan High Commissioner to South Africa Jean Kamau urged Kenyans in the affected areas to cooperate with the police and report any incidents.
Ms. Kamau also advised Kenyan community members to work with their local diaspora leaders to monitor the situation and take measures to safeguard their security.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa tweeted, 'I condemn the violence that has been spreading around a number of our provinces in the strongest terms. I’m convening the ministers in the security cluster today to make sure that we keep a close eye on these acts of wanton violence and find ways of stopping them.'
Mr. Ramaphosa added, 'Attacks on businesses run by “foreign nationals is something totally unacceptable, something that we cannot allow to happen in South Africa. I want it to stop immediately.'
