The members of Operation Dudula, a South African movement opposed to the influx of foreign nationals into the country, on Saturday 27 August, marched to shops in Johannesburg demanding that foreigners must leave.
Operation Dudula accuses immigrants, especially those who entered the country illegally, of taking their jobs and committing crimes like gang-raping, murder and armed robbery.
Speaking during the protest on Saturday in Johannesburg, Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla Lux said all foreigners must go back and fix their countries. Said, Lux:
When I am looking here, it is all foreign nationals, they are occupying what we deserve in our country, we fought for this country, we fought for this freedom.
There are too many people who died here, we cannot allow you, people, to come into our country and treat our country in a mess.
This country is a country of love, and we are telling all foreign nationals that starting today you must go fix your countries. There is no war in your countries, why are you coming to our country?
You are criminals in our country, you are destroying our country, if you are not doing human trafficking, you are doing hijacking and you cannot do all of that in your own countries.
If your countries are saying Zimbabweans for Zimbabweans why not us South Africa for South Africans, we are saying Nigeria for Nigerians, Mozambique for Mozambicans.
The Zimbabwean government estimates that about 1.5 million Zimbabweans live in South Africa either legally or illegally but observers put the number at at least 3 million.
Last week, Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba berated a Zimbabwean woman who was seeking medical treatment at a local hospital.
More: NewZimbabwe.com