Dead Tanzanian Immigrants in SA Exceed 12

[Ab-Titchaz]

Dead Tanzanian immigrants in SA `exceed 12`​

2008-09-16 11:06:28

By Patrick Kisembo in Dar and Mwinyi Sadallah in Zanzibar

The number of Tanzanians who died in South Africa last week might exceed 12, according to reports received by the government on Sunday.

This was said by Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Charles Sanga yesterday.

Sanga was commenting on reports on the death of two Tanzanians who died in South Africa and were buried in Zanzibar on Sunday.

Initial reports indicated that the Zanzibaris were reportedly killed in Port Elizabeth, South Africa last week in a wave of attacks against foreigners.

Police in Zanzibar had named the dead as Mzee Musa Makungu and Rajab Suleiman Mrisho, both from Jang`ombe in Unguja.

The late Makungu went to South Africa to seek for employment, while Mrisho had already been working in the oil industry there for eight years.

Sanga told The Guardian yesterday that unconfirmed reports indicated that about 12 Tanzanians had been killed in South Africa.

"However, when we checked with our colleagues in the Tanzanian High Commission in South Africa, they told us that they have no such information," he said.

He said the Tanzania High Commission in South Africa had only received reports that two Tanzanians died during a fight of a personal nature.

However, another source said there was information to the effect that the two had been involved in a brawl over illicit drugs.

The acting PS also said according to information received from the Tanzania High Commission in South Africa, the deaths were not linked to xenophobic incidences.

Sanga said due to these conflicting reports, the government had decided to carry out a thorough investigation to find out the whole truth and the actual number of Tanzanians who were affected.

Efforts to get comments from South African High Commission to Tanzania proved futile as those who could comment on the matter were on official trips outside the country.

Meanwhile, the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to give a thorough explanation as to what really happened.

The Minister of State in the Chief Minister's Office in charge of Union Matters, Hamza Hassan Juma, said yesterday that Zanzibar government had received with shock news of the deaths of the two Zanzibaris.

"We call upon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to probe into the incident.The Zanzibar government wants to get accurate reports on what actually transpired from the Union government, not from the media," he said.

Hamza raised concern over the safety of Tanzanians living in South Africa, citing the recent spate of xenophobic attacks on foreigners.

The late Makungu`s uncle, Ali Othman Ali, blamed the Tanzania High Commission in South Africa for failure to transport the bodies back home on time, saying it had taken the bodies two weeks to reach home.

"Family members had to contribute money from among themselves to enable the bodies be brought back for burial. Our High Commission in South Africa failed to provide the required assistance" charged Ali.

The Director of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Zanzibar, Mohamed Haji, however, said that the families of the victims did not communicate with his ministry in regard to the said deaths.

"The relatives did not communicate with our office. I even heard these reports only yesterday. We managed to communicate with our colleagues at the head office in Dar es Salaam," said Haji.

Haji said the Union government, through its mission in South Africa, had previously helped Tanzanians living in South Africa who sought refuge at police stations and churches to return home during xenophobic attacks.

"Some of them refused to come back home for personal reasons. On the other hand, I cannot discuss the allegations made by family members of the deceased about the transportation of the bodies," he said.

Further information indicates that already, a number of Zanzibaris living in South Africa have opted to return home to save their lives.

SOURCE: Guardian

Dead Tanzanian immigrants in SA `exceed 12`

 

[Gamba la Nyoka]

duh! yaani bado wageni wanauwa south africa?

 

[jmushi1]

Acha walimwe kwasababu wanafanya nini kwenye nchi ya waafrika wenzao huku zao wanauza kwa makaburu wa huko wanakoenda kutafuta mali?
Walimwe na warudi nyumbani na si kwenda kumtumikia kaburu waliyemwuzia nchi!

 

[Masatu]

Acha walimwe kwasababu wanafanya nini kwenye nchi ya waafrika wenzao huku zao wanauza kwa makaburu wa huko wanakoenda kutafuta mali?
Walimwe na warudi nyumbani na si kwenda kumtumikia kaburu waliyemwuzia nchi!

Kazi kweli kweli...

 

[Yo Yo]

Acha walimwe kwasababu wanafanya nini kwenye nchi ya waafrika wenzao huku zao wanauza kwa makaburu wa huko wanakoenda kutafuta mali?
Walimwe na warudi nyumbani na si kwenda kumtumikia kaburu waliyemwuzia nchi!

Mkuu nakiri kusema una matatizo akili mwako.....wewe unafanya nini kwenye nchi ya kaburu mmarekani?

 

[jmushi1]

Mkuu nakiri kusema una matatizo akili mwako.....wewe unafanya nini kwenye nchi ya kaburu mmarekani?

NIMEKUJA KUTAFUTA ELIMU WE PAMBAF NINI?
Halafu nchi sijauza mwehu we!
Mimi ni freedom fighter...I live to fight anather day...Halafu nashiriki kwenye mchakato wa mageuzi ya kidunia unaoanzia hapa USA!
WATUMWA WA AKILI KAMA NYIE NDIO TUNAWATAKA....Umesharudi bongo ama bado huku hapa?

 

[S. S. Phares]

Acha walimwe kwasababu wanafanya nini kwenye nchi ya waafrika wenzao huku zao wanauza kwa makaburu wa huko wanakoenda kutafuta mali?
Walimwe na warudi nyumbani na si kwenda kumtumikia kaburu waliyemwuzia nchi!

Duh..ama kweli "Nyani Haoni..."

 

[jmushi1]

Duh..ama kweli "Nyani Haoni..."

Hao wanaowafukuza huko ni weusi ambao walishachoshwa na ubaguzi na apartheid.
Sasa hao makaburu ndio ccm imewauzia nchi..Makaburu hao hao wanaoendekeza ubaguzi huko SA ndio hao hao wanaowaaajiri weusi hao wa nje na kuwaacha wazawa kwasababu mbali mbali.
Nasema walimwe tu ili warudi nyumbani.
Kuhusu mimi usijali kwani hakuna anayenifukuza at least kwasasa...Na kama wakifanya hivyo basi na mimi najuwa cha kufanya.
Hapa nipo kwa kupata elimu kama mnayopata nyie huko Uinereza.
Tatizo nyie mna connection na mnasomeshwa kwa miela ya wananchi.
Na ndio maana manafungua matawi huko na kukutana na hao vigogo mafisadi kila wakija hapo London na ufisadi ni mbele kwa mbele.
Sasa mkaja hapa JF mnajificha kwenye kivuli cha YEBO YEBO NA YOYO

 

[Yo Yo]

NIMEKUJA KUTAFUTA ELIMU WE PAMBAF NINI?
Halafu nchi sijauza mwehu we!
Mimi ni freedom fighter...I live to fight anather day...Halafu nashiriki kwenye mchakato wa mageuzi ya kidunia unaoanzia hapa USA!
WATUMWA WA AKILI KAMA NYIE NDIO TUNAWATAKA....Umesharudi bongo ama bado huku hapa?

Hujajibu swali kwanini unaishi kwenye nchi ya makaburu kama America?......mkuu unawajua waliouliwa SA kuwa walikuwa wanafanya nini kule?

 

[Yo Yo]

Hapa nipo kwa kupata elimu kama mnayopata nyie huko Uinereza.

Mkuu hao walimu mnaelewana kweli?

 

[Pundit]

This takes "blaming the victim" to a whole new dimension.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald alianza "The Great Gatsby" kwa kukumbuka maonyo aliyopewa na baba yake.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had"

What a snobbish father, nevertheless he had a point.

Before unleashing a feigned sagacious torrent of blame on the victim in the above manner plagued by paucity of details, a manner which unfortunately purpots grave positions -quite literaly so at athat - without even the benefit of the least informed blogosphere newsreel on the nature of the residency of the said victim, we may want to reflect on the commonality in the nature of existence, when it is all said and done, at the end of the day nobody owns any piece of land and can practically use no more than the small plot in which he will be buried, and that is only for a short time before some highway or some other similarly mundane project will override the importance of leaving the dead in peace.

My good revolutionary friend would perhaps care to enlighten us how can he so hastily conclude that there are no students -much like him- who are endangered by this barbaric medieval savagery.

Can the esteemed member come up with supporting statistics that Tanzanian students can freely walk the streets of SA with no fear of harm on their lives?

Will the member take these unwarranted utterances back and beg for understanding in this most unfortunate betrayal of an inhumane and empathy lacking intellect?

 

[Jasusi]

Nadhani serikali ya SA inao wajibu mkubwa wa kuwaelimisha/ kuwakumbusha raia wake wa Kiafrika kwamba isingekuwa kujitoa mhanga na michango ya nchi nyingine za Kiafrika ubaguzi wa rangi usingetoweka kirahisi nchini mwao. Badala ya kuwakumbatia Waafrika wenzao wa kuwaona kuwa ni wenzao wanaendeleza hii phobia na si against foreigners per se lakini against black foreigners. It is very sad.

 

[Tonga]

It is shame indeed for a country like SA to do that to fellow Africans! The country we sacrificed a lot to help during apartheid, and now they are killing us like stepping on a spider!! Is unbeliavable, the SA goverment has to work on this hatred very seriously am not sure how much they've done already, is getting worse.
God Bless our beloved Africa; we have a lot to worry rather than killing each other.

 

[Pundit]

The ideals of the brotherhood of humanity forbids the thinking -let alone the actual carrying out- of any such heinous acts against anybody, not just against fellow Africans or people from former frontline states. Violence is barbaric period, it matters not who the violence is directed towards.

I find it detestable that some sort of privilege is expected from the contribution Tanzania made in the liberation of South Africa.

 

[Jasusi]

The ideals of the brotherhood of humanity forbids the thinking -let alone the actual carrying out- of any such heinous acts against anybody, not just against fellow Africans or people from former frontline states. Violence is barbaric period, it matters not who the violence is directed towards.

I find it detestable that some sort of privilege is expected from the contribution Tanzania made in the liberation of South Africa.

Pundit,
No one expects some sort of privilege from South Africa, let me make that perfectly clear. But for those who so much was sacrificed for by the outside world to enable them to attain their liberty a little decency should at least be expected from.

 

[ThinkPad]

JAmani hao wabongo warudi home,na hawa watu ZA na sisi Serikari yetu iwarudishe maana kama serikali inauliwa watu wake ina bidi serikali nayo ijibu mashambulizi kwa nguvu zote na ghadhabu nyingi.

Tanzania ni Mtanzania.

 

[jmushi1]

Taitizo ni kuwa nchi yenyewe iko mikononi mwa ma foreigners na wazawa hawana lao.

 

[Nyaralego]

It is shame indeed for a country like SA to do that to fellow Africans! The country we sacrificed a lot to help during apartheid, and now they are killing us like stepping on a spider!! Is unbeliavable, the SA goverment has to work on this hatred very seriously am not sure how much they've done already, is getting worse.
God Bless our beloved Africa; we have a lot to worry rather than killing each other.

I know SA'cans who lived in TZ in morogoro. They were refugess and they were welcomed to other countries.
It is indeed a shame that South Africans are xenophobic and yet they were accepted in almost all countries in Africa and abroad. What if we all chased from our contries at the peek of Apartheid? Hi ni ? Unyama!!

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

The ideals of the brotherhood of humanity forbids the thinking -let alone the actual carrying out- of any such heinous acts against anybody, not just against fellow Africans or people from former frontline states. Violence is barbaric period, it matters not who the violence is directed towards.

I find it detestable that some sort of privilege is expected from the contribution Tanzania made in the liberation of South Africa.

Well said brother.

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Xenophobia not cause of Tanzanians deaths

2008-09-18 10:30:24

By Patrick Kisembo in Dar and Mwinyi Sadalla in Zanzibar

The South African High Commission in Tanzania said yesterday that the reported killings of the Tanzanian immigrants in South Africa had nothing to do with their nationality.

Carol Rath, Counsellor (Political) in the South African High Commission in Dar es Salaam, told this paper that South Africa had been hosting millions of foreigners.

She said, however, that the main cause of the deaths was yet to be established.South African police are working on the matter, she said.

"In most cases, the killings have been associated with involvement in dubious, criminal or trading activities. As for those from Zanzibar, there were some illegal dealings going on," she said.

She ruled out the xenophobia elements in the killings. Rath, however, admitted that there had been elements of jealousy and competitiveness by South African citizens who felt their income generating activities had been undercut by foreigners.

In South Africa, the death certificates indicated the causes of death of the two Tanzanians of Zanzibar origin that occurred last week in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, last week as unnatural.

A copy of the death certificate issued by the Province of the Eastern Cape, Department of Health Office of the District Manager, Metro was availed to The Guardian yesterday.

"At the time of the death the deceased did not suffer from any contagious disease and there were no epidemic diseases of any kind in the area concerned," affirmed the death certificate with reference no. S 17/6/7/3 that was issued on September 10, this year.

The certificate was signed by Wendy Zanele Dunywa, assistant Director Environmental Health Health: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Bay District, Department of Health: Eastern Cape Province.

Local press reports that quoted close relatives of the deceased, Mzee Mussa Makungu and Rajab Suleiman Mrisho, maintained that the duo were shot dead by unknown persons who raided their Cape Town residence in the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said the number of Tanzanian immigrants who have died in South Africa has reached five.

Since the death of two Tanzanians who were buried in Zanzibar last week, there had been varied reports on the number of Tanzanian nationals who had died in South Africa, with unconfirmed information indicating up to a dozen victims.

The ministry had earlier speculated that about 12 Tanzanians had been killed over issues that were not related to xenophobia, but on Wednesday, it announced that four people had indeed lost their lives.

Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, the acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ambassador Charles Sanga, said the number of the dead had reached five as of yesterday.

"The reports that I have received from our diplomatic mission in South Africa say five people have died, including the two whose bodies were brought back to Tanzania for burial, and who died of pneumonia in Johannesburg," said the acting PS.

Sanga said two others were killed in Cape Town, with one being killed by his female lover. He said the second person who lost his life had a personal dispute with a Tanzanian colleague.

"The lady who killed his lover is in custody, our people have not identified her nationality yet," he said.

Sanga said the Tanzanian mission in South Africa has sent immigration officer to the incidental areas to collaborate with South African police in identifying the deceased and the lady who has been arrested.

Commenting on claims by parents of the two dead Zanzibaris whose bodies were ferried from South Africa, who blamed the Tanzanian mission officials for indifference, Sanga said he could blame neither the parents nor the high commission because the problem arose from miscommunication.

"I should insist here that Tanzanians must have a habit of registering at their embassies abroad or the British High Commission in case there is no Tanzanian embassy.This would help in solving such problems. It now seems that the parents received the reports earlier than the High Commission itself," he said.

SOURCE: Guardian