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Vehicles being torched in KuGompo, during a protest over the alleged coronation of an “Igbo king”
Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Reverend Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, says the Nigerian Embassy has distanced itself from reports of the installation of a Nigerian king in KuGompo in the Eastern Cape.
He also condemned the violence and destruction of property during protests on Monday and called for calm and restraint.
Burns-Ncamashe says the government will engage diplomatic channels following the incident.
“We have a diplomatic relationship with the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it’s important to follow that level of protocol and etiquette whenever there’s an incident that would’ve affected the nationals from a particular country. So, we will be meeting with the High Commissioner, who already has written a letter distancing the government of Nigeria from what has happened, but also over and above that, expressing the apology to the people of South Africa,” he said.
PODCAST | Progressive Forces protest Nigerian ‘king’ coronation as unrest rocks Eastern Cape:
Amathole Traditional Leaders chairperson Nkosi Xhanti Sigcawu has blamed foreign nationals for the violence that broke out during a protest in KuGompo.
“We are really not happy with whatever that the Nigerians were doing, be it them celebrating their own culture or tradition. But for them to declare one of theirs as a king is totally unacceptable. They are the ones who have provoked our communities in South Africa, especially in the region of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. We are law-abiding citizens, as South Africans, especially amaXhosa, we are a peace-loving nation,” said Sigcawu.
PODCAST | KuGompo protests turn violent over Nigerian coronation:
Meanwhile, civic organisation Progressive Forces of South Africa is expected to picket at the Nigerian Embassy in Pretoria.
President of the organisation, Mthetho Ngcukayithobi, says: “This is a picket, and we’ve observed that the installation of the Igbo King, and the celebrations and mockery that followed afterwards, among Nigerian nationals. We want to send the message to the Nigerians that Zulu and Xhosa people are not alone.”
COGTA condemns violence during Nigerian king coronation protest:
