Lesotho sends team to probe SA violence

“I have sent a delegation to South Africa to find out if it is true that Basotho are among the people being chased away,” Mpotjoane told parliament this week.
“I have asked the South African government to investigate the statements by the Orkney councillor who urged people to deal with Basotho decisively.”
The dispatch of the team follows the violent attacks on Basotho illegal immigrants in Orkney in the North West province.
Mpotjoane said “we should be extra careful when working out the issues that are between the two countries because geographically, we are inside South Africa”.
He said he had already spoken to the South African Home Affairs Minister telling him that the move to “chase Basotho might cause problems between the two countries”.
“I said maybe we see many Lesotho citizens living in South Africa, but no one knows how many South African companies operate in Lesotho,” he said.
Mpotjoane said if the matter is not handled well, it could ruin the relationship between the two countries.
His remarks followed comments by some MPs that the South Africans might have reacted after Basotho nationals engaged in illegal activities.
Mokhothu Makhalanyane, the MP for Mokhethoaneng constituency, said parliament must come up with an evacuation plan in case the violence against Basotho escalates.
He spoke after Mpotjoane said he was concerned about the safety of Basotho in South Africa.
“It is unfortunate that Basotho are being discriminated against in South Africa,” Makhalanyane said.
“We should have a plan to evacuate people if need be,” he said.
He also suggested that Lesotho should dispatch a rapid response team to South Africa to deal with the problem.
South Africa has been rounding up illegal immigrants for prosecution or deportation. In a video doing the rounds on social media, some Basotho nationals were seen retaliating by throwing missiles at the police.
The South African police said this week at least one person had died while about 20 others were injured during a stampede at the Home Affairs offices where immigrants issues were being dealt with on Tuesday.
South Africa remains the destination of choice for illegal immigrants from Lesotho. Most of the immigrants are looking for better economic opportunities in South Africa. But that has triggered massive resentment from locals who are also chasing jobs.
Newly appointed South African Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber, recently launched an aggressive campaign against illegal immigrants. Schreiber said any undocumented foreign nationals living in South Africa will be deported.
A local councillor in Orkney, Kanana, is said to have stoked up tensions after he called for “harsh treatment” against Basotho whom he labelled criminals.
Last month Schreiber pledged to step up a crackdown on illegal immigrants, adding that his ministry would step up inspections across all sectors of the economy.
Schreiber said he was planning to deport illegal immigrants from South Africa, saying some were working in the country illegally.
Motlalepula Khahloe, an MP for the Movement for Economic Change (MEC), said Basotho’s involvement in criminal activities in South Africa “is the root cause of the problem”.
“These actions have led to negative perceptions and subsequent attacks,” Khahloe said.
Lerato Nkhetše, the Migrant Workers Association of Lesotho’s executive director, accused Schreiber of stoking fires of violence against migrants in South Africa.
Nkhetše said Orkney’s councillor’s “inflammatory remarks about Basotho that led to a surge in violence against them (came) from Schreiber’s statements”.

Nkheli Liphoto