South Africa has become a boiling pot that is too hot to handle for the cook.
The wrath that pours out of this steaming pot is felt by many African foreigners, particularly Nigerians.
It is a fallacy to believe the recent wave of xenophobic violence was solely sparked by the gruesome murder of taxi driver Jabu Baloyi.
Jabu was allegedly gunned down by a drug peddler in Tshwane while trying to rescue a young life from the demon of nyaope.
Indeed, it is frustrating for young people to see government turning a blind eye to drug peddling in the country.
Sunnyside in Tshwane is a haven for drug peddling and prostitution. Hillbrow in Joburg is the same. These social ills have been allowed to happen as cops seem to have taken a long paid holiday.
Some people have even suggested police officers don’t want to tackle crime because they are in the pockets of drug peddlers.
Behind the violence and looting that has swept across Mzansi in the past few weeks also lie other genuine and legitimate concerns many South Africans have been raising about foreigners for several years.
These include the many undocumented immigrants roaming our streets, corruption at points of entry, and the virtual takeover of small businesses in rural areas and townships by non-citizens.
But government does not act against these burning issues. Its deafening silence and inaction have left many patriotic South Africans frustrated.
If violence and looting are all you see, you are diagnosing the problem from the wrong angle.
- Thapelo Boshomane
Sunnyside