In South Africa, mysterious poisonings revive xenophobia

Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed Agence France-Presse Since six schoolchildren died last month after eating potato chips that contained traces of pesticides, politicians have been trying to ban foreigners from owning “spaza shops,” informal grocery stores that are widespread in South Africa.

Clément Varanges – Agence France-Presse In Soweto

Published on November 15

• Africa

The fatal poisoning of 23 children since the beginning of the year around Johannesburg has fueled yet another wave of anti-migrants in South Africa. In the crosshairs: foreigners running “spaza shops“, more or less informal grocery stores, which an organization has begun to drive out of Soweto.

In Naledi, the epicenter of the health scandal in the vast township, police tape still visible marks the incriminated shop, now closed, on a street echoing with the noise of two neighboring schoolyards.

Six students died last month after eating potato chips. The autopsy revealed that a pesticide killed them. Traces of terbufos, diverted as rat poison, were found in one of the packages in the possession of one of the victims.

On the day of the tragedy, the grocery store was attacked and looted by residents. According to the vendor on the opposite side, even the owner of the walls left the neighborhood for fear of reprisals.

Since then, under pressure from politicians calling for a choice between increasing checks or banning foreigners from running these businesses, the authorities have increased the number of raids.

Like last week in Olievenhoutbosch, near Pretoria. “We managed to close six stores,” says city councilor Sarah Mabotsa. “They were selling expired food, beauty products, meat, all in one place,” she describes.

Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed Agence France-Presse An inspection of a spa shop in Naledi, in the township of Soweto, on October 16.

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Operation Refoulement

And when the authorities find nothing to complain about, an organization imposes its law. In Naledi, six stores have just changed hands, thanks to Operation Dudula — translated as “refouler” in Zulu.

This anti-migrant movement has been shaking up South Africa for more than two years with its raids on immigrants suspected of theft or drug trafficking, and is thriving in this country where xenophobic outbursts are frequent. Like in 2008, when 62 people lost their lives.

“We chased away the foreigners,” rejoices Maphoka Mohalanwani, 54, new manager of a spaza shopNaledi, previously run by Ethiopians.

According to her, there is no doubt: the poisonings are “linked to foreigners.” “When children eat chips bought from [South African] street vendors, they don't die,” says this former supermarket cashier.

She became her own boss thanks to one of the 15 scholarships awarded to South African candidates to replace foreign managers, some of whom were perfectly authorized.

“Some stores have been closed by the authorities because they did not respect the laws of this country. Some were able to reopen, but we went back to those to make sure they closed again,” the president of Operation Dudula, Zandile Dabula, told Agence France-Presse.

“Eliminate the competition”

The saga of the spaza shops has been dominating the banners of South African television channels for weeks. Like all front-page stories, it has not escaped conspiracy theories.

These divide the street in two, between people convinced that these foreigners — mostly Ethiopians, Somalis or Pakistanis — are deliberately poisoning South Africans and those who see it as a pretext for taking over these businesses.

“The investigations do not suggest that there is a deliberate campaign of poisoning children,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a formal address on Friday, citing “false information” and products that are “just as likely to be sold in shops run by South Africans.”

“We don’t know what’s causing these stories, maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not,” wonders Zachariah Salah, a Somali grocery store worker in White City, another Soweto neighborhood.

One thing he is certain about is that the replacement movement launched by Operation Dudula “is tragic for us” — meaning foreigners.

“A lot of these initiatives are about eliminating competition. “If you attack a foreigner, no one protests,” says Loren Landau, a migration expert at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, citing “purely cynical calculation” and “stories that have been circulating for years.”

But in White City, the reopening of the spaza, after several weeks, delights customers, who can find just about anything on just a few shelves. From soda to cereal, frozen foods to household products.

“When it was closed, I had to walk to the malls,” says Nomsa Skosan, 63, relieved to avoid several kilometers of walking.

She wonders: “If the products they [the spaza shops] sell were as bad as they say, why do those who attack them loot them?”