South Africans chased out of Mozambique

Komatipoort - Xenophobic violence has broken out in Mozambique, forcing South Africans to leave the neighbouring country in a hurry, while trucks exporting goods have been grounded.

Truck driver John Mashiloane, who works for Ngululu Carriers told a News24 correspondent that he was forced to return to South Africa after the truck he was driving was stoned a short distance from the border town of Ressano Garcia.

"I’m back in South Africa, we have parked our trucks in Komatipoort. When we went into Mozambique in the morning, we saw that traffic was clear and thought it was fine, but just 4km into Mozambique near the Muamba Toll Gate, we found a mob of about 300 people in bakkies who started pelting our trucks with stones and telling us that we are killing their brothers and sisters so we deserve to die too," said Mashiloane.

Ngululu’s operational manager, Jay Luvhani, said that their trucking business had come to a standstill.

“Our employees are hiding at various police stations. We had to call back our drivers who were just getting into Mozambique. Some trucks have been pelted with stones, but there's not much damage; we just fear for their lives.

“In the early hours of the day, our drivers in the harbour were attacked and police had to intervene and they have since secured our trucks. We are looking forward to the situation being calm. But as we speak, it's not business as usual in Mozambique due to the retaliation of the Mozambicans over the xenophobic attacks in South Africa,” Luvhani said.

Mozambican national Sabelo Benito, who works at the Fish Market in Maputo, said he and his colleagues had received an SMS saying they should not travel to Mbombela because it was too dangerous.

“We got this SMS from some people around; it’s circulating and they are saying it’s very dangerous to travel to Mbombela as South Africans are killing our brothers and sisters. They said we must also retaliate and hurt them. This is not good for us here because our visitors are now scared. Some have since said they are going back to South Africa,” said Benito.

Border gates closed

Constable Lawrence Ntuli, who is stationed at the Lebombo border post, said the gate was closed for some time in the morning following the incidents outside Ressano Garcia, but they had since received confirmation from Mozambican police and motorists that the roads had been cleared.

“We just got information now from the police that the situation in Mozambique is fine and motorists are now travelling to Mozambique. The situation looks calm at the moment and traffic is flowing as normal. We cannot easily say it's all fine, but we are getting reports on the situation,” said Ntuli.

The Mozambican consul attached to Limpopo and Mpumalanga, Esperanca Cuna, said things were "okay" as far as they were concerned.

“Our people travelling to Nelspruit [Mbombela] are safe [according to] the police of South Africa, but we have not yet heard of things in Mozambique. We hope all will be fine soon," he said.

He rejected reports of an SMS inciting Mozambican's to retaliate against South Africans.

"The issue of an SMS which has been going around is a rumour; we don’t have the SMS. What is said there is lies,” said Cuna.

In a Facebook video, South African employees in Inhambane, Mozambique, are seen being asked to leave by a peaceful group of Mozambicans and colleagues. 

Why other Africans are declaring South Africa 'xenophobic'

Thousands across Africa have gone online to label South Africa "xenophobic" - a trend that actually began before the recent murders of immigrants and widespread violence.

Foreign-owned shops were looted overnight in eastern Johannesburg and at least five people died in attacks against immigrants in Durban this week - just the latest events in a two-week spate of violence directed at migrants from other African countries. Millions of Africans from other countries work in South Africa -perhaps 1m from Zimbabwe alone - and the violence against some of them has been met by anger and solidarity online from across the African continent. Especially in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya as well as inside South Africa itself, thousands of people on social media used a hashtag, #XenophobicSA, to condemn attitudes in the country.

The attacks began after alleged comments by a ceremonial leader, Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, telling migrants to go home - although he says his remarks were mistranslated. Although hashtags highlighting the violence have spiked in the past few days, the treatment of foreigners has long been a discussion point on social media. In distant Kenya, prominent blogger Robert Alai started using the hashtag #XenophobicSA in late March - only to see a huge spike when news of the attacks broke.

"Kenyans in South Africa were contacting me with stories about beatings and mistreatment of foreigners," Alai tells BBC Trending. "I sought more information and more pictures and it was very interesting to pick up on the things that were going on there but weren't in the news."

A trickle of messages came after Alai first tweeted. The number of tweets under that hashtag remained very low however until the recent violence. More than 80,000 tweets have used #XenophobicSA in the last week.

There have also been other spiking hashtags condemning the violence. More than 10,000 people used the hashtag #PeaceMarch in reference to an anti-violence rally in Durban. Related terms trended, including #SayNoToXenophobia and "JHB CBD" - for "Johannesburg Central Business District", where foreign-owned shops shut in anticipation of further violence.

"These people who are being attacked are only trying to provide for their families by working in a neighbouring nation," says Wadzanai Thembani, a Zimbabwe native currently living in the United States who tweeted #SayNoToXenophobia. "They have not stolen from anyone: they are only working hard so their families have something to eat, somewhere to sleep, but now their being treated worse than criminals."

Alai blames uneven economic development for the violence.

"There's a lot of unemployment in South Africa and still a gap between blacks and whites," he says. "Foreigners are doing the jobs that South Africans won't do ... they get blamed, but that's wrong."

It's a sentiment that was echoed by two of the country's most prominent NGOs. "This is the latest manifestation of a phenomenon which has been troubling our democracy for a long time," the Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada foundations said in a joint statement earlier in the week.

South Africa Mulls Mixed Legacy of Cecil John Rhodes

Only a figure as intriguing as Cecil John Rhodes could still manage to stir controversy more than a century after his death. The British industrialist and colonialist is under fire in 2015 by young South Africans, who say his image is unfairly glorified and needs to be scrubbed from institutions like the venerable University of Cape Town.

The nation's ruling party agrees, though for the moment Rhodes' legacy remains part of the educational landscape.

Judging from his own words, Cecil John Rhodes would have a hard time in today’s multicultural South Africa. The British-born mining magnate, industrialist and politician came to the African continent as a teen in the 1870s, and had this to say about his adopted home:

“Africa is still lying ready for us,” he wrote in 1877. “It is our duty to take it. It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory and we should keep this one idea steadily before our eyes: that more territory simply means more of the Anglo-Saxon race: more of the best the most human, most honorable race the world possesses.”

It is for pronouncements like that that students at the University of Cape Town, South Africa's top academic institution that was built on land donated by Rhodes, want his image removed.  In the past month, students have pelted his prominent statue with excrement, amid claims he is the very embodiment of “white arrogance.”

Late last month, the university senate voted 181 to one to remove the statue from campus to an undecided location.  The move has also prompted discussion at South Africa’s Rhodes University, which is considering changing its name.

The ruling African National Congress, which has dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid in 1994, has also given its support to the student movement.

“Rhodes’s name is synonymous with the darkest era of our country’s history, in which black people were subjected to a murderous, unjust, inhumane, criminal and oppressive system on the basis of the color of their skin,” the ANC said in a statement.  “… Having monuments glorifying the legacy of such individuals who embody such an evil system, particularly at a university, which is still struggling with racial transformation more 20 years into democracy, undermines our on-going endeavour for national reconciliation and unity.”

Rhodes may be dead, but the protesters say the problem is that his legacy of white supremacy is alive and well in the Rainbow Nation.  For example, they say, UCT’s academic staff is overwhelmingly white, and there still exist deep divisions between black and white students.

South Africa, wrote UCT Constitutional law professor Pierre De Vos, is “entangled with the past because everything all of us assumed, everything we believed, everything drummed into our collective consciousness over 350 years of colonial conquest and racial domination did not evaporate into thin air in 1994.”

The nation may have ended the racist apartheid system that year, but economic inequality has not kept pace with that social transformation.  For example, the last census found the average white family earns six times more than the average black family.  In a country where just less than 80 percent of the population is black, nine out of 10 South Africans below the poverty line are black.

That’s why some South Africans on both sides of the issue argue the Rhodes statue is simply a symbol.

“The statue is a symbolic form of discrimination and if it stays, UCT will remain untransformed,” UCT researcher Zethu Matebeni argued in local media.  “It contributes to the institutional culture that makes UCT untransformed.”

But the federal chairman of the opposition Democratic Alliance, Wilmot James, argued in a statement the university should acknowledge its history by keeping the statue.

“Why not build a statue of another figure that engages Rhodes in perpetual conversation?” he wrote. “This would symbolize the dialogue and reflection that must happen in each generation, not in the absence of the past, but precisely because of it.  Righteousness is not the sole preserve of some; neither is morality the possession of the victors or rulers of the day.”

He also voiced a rare note of support for Rhodes, who founded the well-known Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford, a program enjoyed by many African luminaries and former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

"Cecil John Rhodes did awful things as part of his colonial project.  But through forward thinking by later generations good was able to come, specifically in the area of education," he said.

What would Rhodes think of his rejection by modern South Africans?

One wonders if he would care; after all, this is the man who famously said, “Remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life."

Do you think the University of Cape Town should remove the statue of Cecil John Rhodes?  Chime in in the comments, below.

An audience with Julius Malema - the man who would tear down South Africa

Julius Malema is unequivocal about what he and his political party want to do with the statues of Cecil Rhodes and other imperialists dotted across South Africa.

“Those statues have to be removed; we’ve asked the state to remove them,” he tells The Independent. “If the state continues to be reluctant on this we will remove them.”

His forthright view marks him out as the one decisive leader in what is fast becoming an explosive subject in South Africa. Protesters across the country have called for the statue at the University of Cape Town to be removed, spawning the hashtag #RhodesMustFall.

Following initial calls from students to take down the statues, the current indecision over what to do with the symbols of colonialism – and, for many, apartheid – is pushing the country into a collective angst about its future after Nelson Mandela. Into this political quagmire enters Mr Malema, who advocates the seizure of white-owned farms as happened in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe.

Mention his name to a South African and almost certainly they will offer a quick-fire view of the charismatic, firebrand leader of the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) party.

Many fear him, believing he is a dangerous revolutionary hell-bent on ruining the country’s democratic settlement, in place since 1994, while others says he is the only politician capable of delivering where the ANC has failed. Mr Malema, the former leader of the ANC’s Youth League who launched his party after being cast out of the ANC, has many sides to his enigmatic character. Many of those who dismissed him when he launched the EFF two years ago now realise he is on to something, especially since the party became South Africa’s third largest in last year’s general election.

Key to the party’s success is its ability to appeal to poor black South Africans who feel let down by 20 years of ANC rule that has not delivered on its 1955 Freedom Charter. On nationalising mines and banks, he appears to be on a collision with some of the world’s biggest companies when he invokes the Charter’s demands that “the mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole”.

He speaks of a democratic process in parliament where legislation will be passed, “whether we freeze them [banks, mines and industries]  or take them by force”. He adds: “We will not be tolerant of any foreign investor who wants to tell us how to conduct the affairs of our country.”

Similarly, with his “expropriation without compensation” position on farmland, Mr Malema is both pragmatic and incendiary. Taking literally the Charter’s calls for “land to be re-divided amongst those who work it” and that “all shall have the right to occupy land wherever they choose”, he says that he offers a fair system for farmers to reapply for land.

But he then says he agrees with the agenda of grabbing white farmers’ land in Zimbabwe, stopping short of admiring Robert Mugabe and his violent methods. He says Zimbabwe will be remembered as the “first example in the history of this continent of Africans owning their own economy and land”.

Mr Malema’s challenge may fizzle out like that of other leftist parties that have splintered from the ANC, which he concedes has a remarkable ability to find its feet at election time. But a combination of factors may boost the EFF’s chances in next year’s municipal elections.

For one thing, outrage over President Jacob Zuma’s personal accumulation of wealth at a time of massive inequality in housing, education and jobs is playing into the hands of the EFF, especially when its MPs were forcibly ejected from parliament in February when confronting Mr Zuma over corruption.

Mr Malema promises follow-ups to the chaotic scene viewed around the world. “That’s what parliament is about – to push hard for truth and accountability,” he says.

Mr Malema declares the ANC “even worse than the apartheid government”. He says: “At least the apartheid government confessed in parliament how many people it had killed.”

But opposing corruption has its difficulties, given Mr Malema’s complicated and high-profile tax dispute, which he says may be resolved by bringing the row to court and releasing details of his finances to the public. He offers The Independent no explanation of how he made significant wealth early on in his political career.

The ANC’s other vulnerability is growing violence within the party that, it is claimed, has led to murders. It is another area that Mr Malema will seek to capitalise on, although his own violent rhetoric has at times inspired supporters aggressively to confront police. “We’re not a violent organisation,” he insists.

Mr Malema reveals the EFF will mount a countrywide campaign preceded by the launching of a student wing. “We are going to contest everywhere in South Africa,” he says, adding that the financial backing will be available to mount a serious challenge.

After years of loyalty to the post-apartheid project in South Africa, increasing dejection about the lack of progress, especially empowering black people, is palpable. Many feel betrayed by an ANC they believe has lost its revolutionary zeal. Without the guiding presence of Nelson Mandela, there is a feeling that change is needed.

South Africa suffers daily imposed power cuts, the result of a creaking energy industry. And most people’s lives are blighted by some form of ineptitude or corruption. It is, Mr Malema says, the right of anyone with a fresh agenda to step forward.

The 34-year-old may be a flash in the pan or he could be a future South African president. A man of many characters, the challenge for him is whether he can be all things to all people.

That involves winning over millions of traditional ANC voters with a new agenda for change while calming other South Africans, nervously eyeing the backlash from capital markets at any hint of political risk in their country.

Mr Malema may still be a long way from holding the reins of power, but his voice is being heard and his thoughts and actions may start influencing decision-making, even from a distance.

Mali: UN Agency Launches Project to Boost Agricultural Production in Northern Mali

A new project aimed at restoring the livelihoods of some 33,000 households affected by armed conflict and climate change in northern Mali has been launched today by the country's Government and the United Nations agriculture agency.

"This work represents a contribution to Mali's peace process, because without security there cannot be food security and where there's food insecurity, conflicts often erupt," said the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, during an official visit to the country.

The implementation phase of the project has now begun, with the FAO and the Government working together to rehabilitate agricultural production for families in the Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu regions.

Activities will focus on helping 25,000 households to restart food and horticultural production and on providing 8,000 pastoralist families with feed and veterinary products for their cattle. Beneficiaries will also receive training in farming and nutritional good practices, with emphasis on the needs of women's groups engaged in horticulture.

The project is part of a larger $100 million World Bank Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Programme in Mali and the FAO is implementing the agricultural component in the north of the country at the Government's request.

"The partnership between the World Bank and FAO is win-win, because it allows for FAO's technical know-how to be deployed to support the investments that Mali so very much needs," Graziano da Silva noted.

Agriculture in parts of Mali, particularly the north, has been seriously affected in recent years by civil strife and related impacts such as labour shortages due to population displacements, lack of agricultural support services and fragmentation of markets. Although last season's rains have been good, in recent years erratic weather, dry spells, and flooding have exacerbated these problems.

Across Mali, the FAO's $15.4 million strategic response plan aims to improve living conditions of about 400,000 people facing food insecurity and to ensure a sustainable return of the displaced persons and refugees in the best possible conditions, while supporting host communities.

The agency's work in Mali is part of a broader United Nations Strategic Response Plan for the Sahel region which aims to build the resilience of rural livelihoods and local food and nutrition security systems.

It is combining humanitarian assistance and development efforts to help countries deal with threats and disasters that affect agriculture, food security and nutrition in a proactive and efficient way, and this year, an appeal was launched for $116 million to help support 5.4 million people in the region.

Tanzania: Widows' Eviction Highlights Need to Abolish Tanzania's Discriminatory Laws, UN Experts Say

Tanzania should take steps to revise or repeal laws, customs and practices that discriminate against women, a United Nations Committee said today after considering the case of two widows who were prevented from inheriting their late husbands' property and were left homeless.

The Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued its call after considering a complaint by the women, who under local customary laws could not inherit upon their respective husband's death and were subsequently evicted from their homes by their in-laws.

In 2005, the women, referred to as E.S and S.C, began legal proceedings, arguing that inheritance provisions be struck down because they contravened Tanzania's Constitution and the country's international obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which it ratified in 1985.

In 2006, the High Court agreed that the provisions were discriminatory but said it would not overturn them as doing so would "be opening a Pandora's box, with all the seemingly discriminative customs from our 120 tribes plus following the same path."

Regarding widows, customary law - which is in force in 30 districts - states that they have "no share of the inheritance if the deceased left relatives of his clan; her share is to be cared for by her children, just as she cared for them."

In its findings, the 23-member Committee said that Tanzania should grant the two women adequate reparation and compensation, noting that they had been left "economically vulnerable, with no property, no home to live in with their children and no form of financial support." It also called on Tanzania to ensure that rights guaranteed under the Convention have precedence over discriminatory provisions.

States parties have an obligation to adopt measures to amend or abolish "not only existing laws and regulations, but also customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women." This includes countries such as Tanzania that have "multiple legal systems in which different personal status laws apply to individuals on the basis of identity factors such as ethnicity and religion."

Further, courts should also refrain from resorting to unreasonable and undue delays, CEDAW said, noting that shortcomings in the Tanzanian judiciary had denied the women justice, with their appeal pending before the Court of Appeal for more than six years.

Among several other recommendations, CEDAW called on Tanzania to encourage dialogue on the removal of discriminatory law provisions and provide mandatory training for judicial personnel on the Convention and the Committee's jurisprudence. CEDAW said Tanzania should submit a written response within six months, any action taken in light of its recommendations.

US warns Westerners may be targeted in Uganda's capital

The US embassy in Uganda has warned that Westerners - including Americans - may be targeted for "terrorist" attacks in the capital Kampala.

It said it had "received information of possible threats" at city locations where Western nationals gather.

Uganda's government said the US had warned of a possible suicide bomber trying to enter the country.

Uganda was under threat because its troops were fighting militant Islamists in Somalia, a spokesman added.

In 2010, Somalia's al-Shabab militants carried out a suicide bombing in Kampala, killing 76 people as they watched the football World Cup final.

The US embassy said an attack "may take place soon".

Some planned events had been cancelled at Kampala hotels, it added.

Border controls have been tightened to stop the suspected suicide bomber and his accomplices from crossing into Uganda, government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told the BBC.

Uganda is a key contributor to the African Union mission fighting al-Shabab inside Somalia.

Last September, Uganda was stripped of the right to host an international cricket tournament because of security concerns.