More than 30 foreign-owned shops were looted last night in two neighbourhoods in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, a police spokesman was quoted by the local TimesLive news site as saying.
Bongi Msimango said: “The looting started in Atteridgeville and spread to the neighbouring Lotus Gardens. Police managed to control the situation and there were no further reports later in the evening.
The looting comes ahead of a march planned for Friday by the little-known Mamelodi Concerned Residents group against undocumented immigrants in South Africa.
In a flyer, it said: “Companies only employ Zimbabweans and other foreign nationals. Where must South Africans work?
One of its senior clerics, Bishop Abel Gabuza, added: “We reiterate our call to the government to strengthen border controls. We also call on the intelligence community to devise more effective ways to detect and counter xenophobic violence before it flares up.”
