Riyaz Patel
Former Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, is leading a team of Special Envoys, appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, hoping to reassure African leaders of South Africa’s commitment to the rule of law, amid tensions brought on by xenophobic attacks in parts of South Africa over the past weeks.
Radebe is being accompanied by Ambassador Kingsley Mmabolo and Dr. Khulu Mbatha.
They are scheduled to visit Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, tasked with reassuring fellow African countries that “South Africa is committed to the ideals of pan-African unity and solidarity, as well the government’s commitment to the rule of law.”
The envoys will deliver solidarity messages from President Ramaphosa regarding the incidents of violence that recently erupted in some parts South Africa, which have manifested in attacks on foreign nationals and destruction of property.
The team will brief governments in the identified African countries about steps being taken to stop the attacks and to hold perpetrators to account.
The envoys departed South Africa as Ramaphosa told congregants at the Grace Bible Church in Soweto Sunday that the recent attacks on foreign nationals are a “national shame” which diminish the country’s image.
He vowed to do all in his power to prevent xenophobic attacks from happening in South Africa again.
Ramaphosa made a passionate plea to the church-goers to not only keep them in their prayers, but to help government come up with solutions, and broke into a hymn.
“On behalf of the people of South Africa, [I] apologise for what has happened in the past few weeks, because what has happened has really led to what I call as our national shame,” said Ramaphosa.
