NAIROBI — Ask Mario Khumalo to explain South Africa’s crime rate or its economic troubles, and he has an answer that sounds like a Donald Trump talking point: There are too many foreigners. “We have allowed in criminals and former child soldiers. The government has failed to protect its own people,” the 37-year-old said in a phone interview. Khumalo…
A resurgence of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa has sparked outrage in other African countries and spurred calls for more to be done to stamp out xenophobia. Residents of the Pretoria suburbs of Mamelodi and Atteridgeville took to the streets of the capital last week to protest against the presence of undocumented Nigerians, Pakistanis and Zimbabweans, who they accuse…
The countries have a common interest in putting a lid firmly on xenophobia Sub-Saharan Africa’s voice on the global stage has been at its strongest over the past two decades when its two most powerful players have worked in concert. However, nearly ten years of deteriorating relations have seen the foundations for collective action — laid by Thabo Mbeki,…
South African police have used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to try and disperse anti-immigrant protesters in the capital, Pretoria. A low-flying police helicopter has also been deployed amid a stand-off between local protesters and foreigners, with both groups reportedly armed with sticks, bricks and knives. President Jacob Zuma had called for calm ahead of the anti-immigrant…
The deadliest strain of tuberculosis is XDR-TB, the “extensively drug-resistant” type, meaning that many antibiotics do not work against it. XDR-TB is rare but very lethal. Curing it takes up to two years, and the drugs prescribed can cause permanent deafness, nerve damage, vomiting and rashes. Between 50 percent and 80 percent of those who start treatment die. XDR-TB…
