Police have vowed to "smoke" anyone committing crime or spreading rumours of violence.
This promise came as the government and law enforcers yesterday said they would not allow anyone, especially criminals, to rob South Africa of its World Cup glory by running xenophobic smear campaigns against the country.
"There are no such things. There are a few criminal acts perpetuated by young children tasked to loot the shops of business owners' competitors," said a visibly irritated national police commissioner, General Bheki Cele.
"Those fleeing this so-called xenophobic violence are seasonal workers who are leaving one province for another as well as those returning home across our borders after watching a successful World Cup."
Cele and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa were in Pretoria yesterday at a briefing on World Cup issues.
Asked if police were concerned about the potential flare-up of xenophobic violence, Cele and Mthethwa said they were not.
"What we are worried about are those peddling these rumours, which have the potential to wreak havoc by becoming a reality if left unchecked.
"South Africans are peace-loving citizens who, over the past month, welcomed 3.1 million foreigners to our shores, none of whom were hurt in any so-called xenophobic incident.
"We are concerned about these rumours because people, especially criminals, have ulterior motives, when they spread them. They want to commit common crimes using xenophobic violence to cloak their intentions.
"Those who commit these crimes are pure criminals and that is all, nothing more and nothing less," said Cele.
Mthethwa, who tried to play down the looting of foreigners' shops in the Western Cape, said: "South Africa is not a Banana Republic. We have law enforcement agencies and various organisations which will do everything in their power to help dispel these rumours.
"We are not denying that there is crime in South Africa, but like all other crimes, we will deal with it and will continue to arrest and 'smoke' those who commit crime," said Mthethwa, in reference to the government's new aggressive strategy to stop the spreading of rumours about xenophobia.
Mthethwa said the strategy would include education campaigns and social development.
"The success of this strategy depends not only on national government, but also provinces, which must stop playing political football and come up with positive pro-active measures on what they plan on doing to stop the spreading of these xenophobic myths and rumours."
The government "has never and will never take people's lives and safety for granted. We will do everything in our power to protect people".
Asked who was behind the so-called smear campaigns and their motives, Mthethwa said: "Some of those doing it are doing so for economic reasons, while others who are pushing the rumours include some international newspapers who, even before our hosting of the World Cup, tried to discredit South Africa.
"We are calling on all South Africans to stop peddling this hysteria and for everyone, including the media, to stamp out these rumours once and for all."
This promise came as the government and law enforcers yesterday said they would not allow anyone, especially criminals, to rob South Africa of its World Cup glory by running xenophobic smear campaigns against the country.
"There are no such things. There are a few criminal acts perpetuated by young children tasked to loot the shops of business owners' competitors," said a visibly irritated national police commissioner, General Bheki Cele.
"Those fleeing this so-called xenophobic violence are seasonal workers who are leaving one province for another as well as those returning home across our borders after watching a successful World Cup."
Cele and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa were in Pretoria yesterday at a briefing on World Cup issues.
Asked if police were concerned about the potential flare-up of xenophobic violence, Cele and Mthethwa said they were not.
"What we are worried about are those peddling these rumours, which have the potential to wreak havoc by becoming a reality if left unchecked.
"South Africans are peace-loving citizens who, over the past month, welcomed 3.1 million foreigners to our shores, none of whom were hurt in any so-called xenophobic incident.
"We are concerned about these rumours because people, especially criminals, have ulterior motives, when they spread them. They want to commit common crimes using xenophobic violence to cloak their intentions.
"Those who commit these crimes are pure criminals and that is all, nothing more and nothing less," said Cele.
Mthethwa, who tried to play down the looting of foreigners' shops in the Western Cape, said: "South Africa is not a Banana Republic. We have law enforcement agencies and various organisations which will do everything in their power to help dispel these rumours.
"We are not denying that there is crime in South Africa, but like all other crimes, we will deal with it and will continue to arrest and 'smoke' those who commit crime," said Mthethwa, in reference to the government's new aggressive strategy to stop the spreading of rumours about xenophobia.
Mthethwa said the strategy would include education campaigns and social development.
"The success of this strategy depends not only on national government, but also provinces, which must stop playing political football and come up with positive pro-active measures on what they plan on doing to stop the spreading of these xenophobic myths and rumours."
The government "has never and will never take people's lives and safety for granted. We will do everything in our power to protect people".
Asked who was behind the so-called smear campaigns and their motives, Mthethwa said: "Some of those doing it are doing so for economic reasons, while others who are pushing the rumours include some international newspapers who, even before our hosting of the World Cup, tried to discredit South Africa.
"We are calling on all South Africans to stop peddling this hysteria and for everyone, including the media, to stamp out these rumours once and for all."
- Pretoria News
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