THE South African Acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Bobby J. Moroe, has cautioned against the use of misinformation, fake pictures and videos on social media, as well as fake websites to fuel tensions in the communities between South Africans and foreign nationals.
He said certain messages and images that appeared on social media were old and unrelated to any of the reported incidents of alleged attacks on foreign nationals over the past few days.
He said for instance, a message being circulated about foreign nationals burning South African owned trucks in Limpopo Province was not true.
According to him, government has consistently condemned fake news websites masquerading as authentic news websites.
Moroe urged everyone to be vigilant and not spread fake information and images that may give an impression that these are attacks on foreign nationals.
The High Commissioner, however, described the recent acts of xenophobic attack of some foreigners in the KwaZulu Natal (KZN) and Limpopo provinces of South Africa as regrettable.
He said the South African government believes that no amount of frustration or anger could justify the attacks.
He said further: “The Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security Cluster (JCPS) is working tirelessly on the issue of attacks on foreign nationals. To this end, three people have been arrested for the recent incidents in KZN and Limpopo and law enforcement agencies remain steadfast to bring perpetrators responsible for these crimes to book.
“The government of South Africa strongly condemns the violent acts in the strongest possible terms. These attacks violate all the values that South Africa embodies, especially the respect for human life, human rights, human dignity and Ubuntu. Our country stands firmly against all intolerances such as racism, xenophobia, homophobia and sexism.
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