South African politician, Makashule Gana, has said some of his compatriots have complained to him that they are angry with Nigerians and other immigrants because they snatched their girlfriends.

Gana, a Deputy Federal Chairperson of Democratic Alliance, said this during the week at an anti-xenophobia rally, held at Constitution Hill, where other leaders of DA, such as John Moodey also spoke.

Makashule Gana: explains source of xenophobia

South African newspaper, City Press, reported that Gana advised that rather than get angry and take the anger out on foreigners, South African men should “provide” properly for women, rather than lash out at non-nationals for “stealing” women away.

Gana urged the crowd at the rally to spread the message of not taking part in xenophobic attacks to “our wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, makhwaphenis (secret lovers), neighbours and brothers”.

“If you can’t speak to a girl, now all of a sudden a man that comes from Zimbabwe or Nigeria that can speak to a girl now must be killed. What is that?”

“So I ask my fellow brothers from South Africa, if you want a woman please go speak up, don’t go around and killing someone from Nigeria because they can speak up for themselves. Speak out because it is important,” he told the crowd.

He also urged South Africans to look at themselves and not blame non-nationals for stealing their jobs when these jobs didn’t exist in the first place.

“Go and start a spaza shop,” advised Gana.

He said: “We cannot be held ransom by people who commit acts of xenophobia. Let’s isolate these criminals who are doing these acts in our name.”

He also urged South Africans to look at themselves and not blame nonnationals for stealing their jobs when these jobs didn’t exist in the first place.

Moodey told the crowd the enemy weren’t the foreigners, but things like load shedding and rising costs.

“Our streets are overrun with criminality and our young people are calling foreigners the enemy,” he said.

“If we had the opportunities to succeed would we really make immigrants the enemy, when they have probably fled even worse circumstances?

“This debate needs to focus on the causes behind the anger that people are experiencing,” he said, which also included anger over monuments.