HARARE – Members of various civil society organizations demonstrated at the South African embassy in Harare on Friday and handed over a petition to the Deputy Ambassador despite police attempts to block the protest.
Some of the placards challenged President Robert Mugabe and his wife to speak out against the xenophobic violence that has claimed several lives in South Africa and led to the displacement of thousands of foreigners.
Mugabe chairs both Sadc and the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
Nehanda Radio understands that several Members of Parliament from across the political divide also went to the South African embassy demanding action against those engaging in xenophobic violence.
Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said the xenophobic attacks should be stopped forthwith.
“This barbarism must stop immediately otherwise our clarion call for unity in Sadc and the continent as a whole will be hollow.
“Zanu PF is alarmed by the xenophobic violence perpetrated on foreign nationals including hundreds of Zimbabweans living in South Africa,” Khaya Moyo, a former ambassador to South Africa, said.