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| Students light fires at the South African High Commission in Lusaka -Picture by Salim Dawood/Getty Images |
By Paul Shalala
Dozens of
South African businesses which include banks, chain stores, food outlets and a
television provider have been temporarily shut down in the Zambian capital
Lusaka as thousands of students protest xenophobia taking place in South
Africa.
First
National Bank (FNB), Shoprite, Multichoice (DStv), Hungry Lion, Barclays, Pick
N Pay and several other South African owned companies closed yesterday as
placard carrying students went on the streets of Lusaka.
The students,
who wore black clothes in solidarity with victims of xenophobia, disrupted
lectures at the University of Zambia (UNZA) before going on the streets.
They marched
along the Great East Road, a major boulevard in Lusaka and stormed the Manda Hill Shopping Mall were they smashed the Shoprite store
which is the largest in the country.
At Hungry
Lion, the students walked away with umbrellas and also got away with trolleys
from Pick N Pay which they rode on.
In their thousands,
the students entered Addis Ababa Drive and walked 15 kilometers to the South
African High Commission under the watchful eye of heavily armed riot Police
officers.
As they arrived
at the High Commission, the UNZA students were joined by hundreds of students
from Evelyn Hone College, a tertiary institution situated in the central
business district of Lusaka.
The High
Commission was locked and heavily guarded by Police.
Students
could not physically deliver their petition to South African diplomats.
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| Students marching on the streets |
This forced
the students to burn tyres and deface the sign post for the diplomatic mission.
At some
point, Police officers tried to stop the students from lighting the tyres which
led to students unleashing missiles on the High Commission.
This led to
a cat and mouse fight of teargas verses stones between the students and the
Police.
Lusaka
Province Minister Bowman Lusambo arrived at the mission and arranged transport for
the students to be ferried back to the Great East Road Campus where he later
calmed them down.
Zambia National
Students Association (ZANASU) President Misheck Kakonde said the petition which
was not handed over was meant to give the South African government a two day ultimatum
to stop the xenophobia.
“We are now
fed up with the behavior of South Africans and we may respond with the same
amount of force on your businesses and investment in our country Zambia. ……..The
South African government is proving to be docile in managing their thugs…..”
reads part of the petition.
The petition,
which contained 11 demands, claimed that 39 Zambians in South Africa had been
injured and some may have even lost their lives.
“If your
government does not do anything within two days, your High Commission in Zambia
shall be closed for eternity…… No South African businessperson shall bring any
products to Zambia…….. First National Bank (FNB) and other South African banks
shall not be allowed to operate…..” read some of the demands by the students.
Reaction to
the students protest was swift.
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| Smashed doors at Shoprite Manda Hill Branch |
The Zambian
High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa clarified that only one Zambian by
the name of Daniel Lupiya was caught up in the xenophobic attacks.
Mr Lupiya
was hacked in the head and was admitted at Gemiston hospital.
The High
Commission says it is following up another report of Mr Siachingi Sialubaya, a
truck driver, who is reported to have been attacked in KwaZulu Natal.
President
Edgar Lungu condemned the violence by the students but warned that xenophobia
can affect African unity.
“Criminal
gangs engaged in brutalizing innocent people must know that their actions may
cause the isolation of South Africa from the rest of the civilized world. The
South African government must bring the culprits to book before this xenophobia
degenerates into full scale genocide,” said President Lungu.
According to
the Zambia Development Agency, South Africa is among Zambia’s top five trading
partners.
The country
imports a lot from South Africa and Zambia exports a good number of products to
that country.
And most of
South Africa’s exports to the Democratic Republic of Congo passes through
Zambian borders by road.
Three days
ago, the Football Association of Zambia cancelled a friendly march with South
Africa due to the xenophobic attacks.
The game was
supposed to be held in Lusaka but thousands of Zambians took to social media to
call for the cancellation of the game.
The following
day, the Economics Association of Zambia also pulled out of the World Economic
Forum to be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
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| Closure statement by Multichoice |
And two
South African rugby teams JHB Bobbies and the Blue Bulls which were supposed to
travel to Zambia for the Zambia 7s tournament have also cancelled their trip.
In the
capital Lusaka, one of the most popular private radio stations Hot FM has
pulled off all South African music from its playlists.
”In light of
the xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa, Hot FM will cease
to play music by South African artists on our airwaves until further notice. Africa
is one and until such a time that our South African counterparts embrace ubuntu
again, our stand will be with all our African brothers being attacked and
terrorized in that country,” reads a statement from the radio station.
The South
African High Commission in Zambia is yet to issue a statement following these
developments in Zambia.
Across the
continent, Nigerian singer and song writer Tiwa Savage and Ugandan comedian
Teacher Mpamire have also cancelled their shows scheduled for South Africa.