A culture war is brewing between South Africa and its Continental neighbours following a spate of xenophobic attacks that started on September 1.
Zambia becomes the latest country in Africa after Nigeria to take a stand against South African businesses as Zambia local media stations have announced never to play SA music until further notice
On a twitter handle, the popular radio station ‘HotFMZmbia’ wrote that it will not be playing South African Music due to the unending attacks that have seen their citizens attacked.
The action came hours after the Zambian Football Association pulled out of a friendly with Bafana Bafana, in protest of xenophobia.
Besides, several MTN offices were subject to wanton vandalism and destruction across Nigeria. The company has made the unusual decision to close all of their stores across the country, in a bid to prevent further protests flaring-up and putting their staff at risk.
MTN said it is working with the relevant authorities and other stakeholders to focus on stabilising the situation both in Nigeria and South Africa and to ensure the safety and well-being of all those impacted by the unfortunate violence.
“We are also looking at coordinating with key stakeholders to work on medium to long term interventions to this situation. As a company, we remain committed to ensuring a peaceful, harmonious and respectful relationship with all our stakeholders across Africa,” said MTN Group.
Nigerian renowned artists Burna Boy and Tiwa Savage announced they will refuse to perform in South Africa, claiming that citizens from their country were killed in the protests.
The unrest in SA started on September 1, when an old building in the CBD caught fire and collapsed, killing at least three people.
President Cyril Ramaphosa told officials and business leaders on Wednesday that he was committed to quelling attacks on foreigners that have threatened to cast a cloud over an economic forum aimed at boosting intra-African trade.
Police in South Africa have so far arrested almost 300 people and confirmed at least five deaths after riots in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria in recent days, when roving groups attacked shops mainly owned by migrants from the rest of Africa.
