by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – SOME African countries have concluded the evacuation of their citizens from South Africa, where anti-migrant tensions are escalating.
Kenya and Uganda have announced their final evacuation flights.
This comes as tensions begin to ease following agitation by some vigilante groups demanding that foreign nationals from across the continent leave the country. A self-imposed deadline of June 30 had been set by the militant groups.
Roseline Njogu, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for the State Department for Diaspora Affairs, said early on Thursday morning that her team had welcomed 80 compatriots, bringing the total number of Kenyans evacuated by the government from South Africa to 422.
She said more evacuees were expected later on Thursday, the final day of Kenya’s evacuation exercise.
President William Ruto of Kenya was the last head of state to undertake an official state visit to the embattled Southern African country, which has appeared increasingly diplomatically isolated in recent weeks.
Uganda’s government on Thursday confirmed the sixth and final evacuation flight of the first phase of its repatriation exercise.
An aircraft carrying 219 Ugandan nationals departed OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday.
While the so-called nationwide shutdowns have ended and the deadline for foreigners to leave the country has passed, with tensions subsiding, incidents of looting targeting foreign-owned businesses persist.
South Africa is becoming increasingly diplomatically isolated.
This week, Ghana postponed a planned visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa following a surge in anti-foreigner violence.
Officials in Accra reportedly feared the visit would trigger mass protests in the country.
There have also been calls for African governments to retaliate against the hostility by imposing sanctions on African companies operating in South Africa.
During the previous wave of attacks in 2019, some Zimbabweans booed Ramaphosa when he attended the funeral of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.
In solidarity with local cultural and human rights groups, organisers of international music festivals currently under way in neighbouring Zimbabwe suspended performances by South African musicians.
– CAJ News