(EWN)President of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa), Kgosi Setlamorago Thobejane says that Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini’s comments on foreign nationals should be reassessed as they were taken out of context. Numerous commentators have linked Zwelithini’s comments to the initial upsurge of xenophobic violence happening around the Durban Metropolitan area in KwaZulu-Natal. Thobejane unpacked his stance on 702’s John Robbie Show:
“I think the statement made by the King of the Zulu’s was taken out of context. He was outlining that the issues of foreigners need to be properly regulated. It is unfortunate that criminals took that statement to be a shield they hide behind. The King was saying the country is facing a situation where, because of uncertainty of who is in the country, who is from where, that very few of our foreigners are in the books of our country. He was saying, ‘let’s do something to account for everybody so that the little that we are producing for the country should be equitably distributed amongst all of us, without any fear or favour whatsoever. Whether elected or not elected, we are the legitimate leaders of our own people.”
