Namibians recount violent attacks after South Africa unrest

When the banging on the door started, Tonateni Moses (25) thought someone had mistaken the house for another.

Then came the words that would define the terrifying night.

“This house is mine.”

Moses says the words were spoken by a group of South African men who allegedly forced their way into the house where he was sleeping in Vredendal, a farming town in South Africa’s Western Cape province.

He says the house belonged to his uncle, who had lived in South Africa for many years, and that he was staying there while trying to find his footing after moving to the country.

That night, however, the house became a place of fear.

“The men were aggressive and forcibly entered the house. I pushed against the door with all my strength, hoping they would leave as they forcefully pushed the door. They later managed to open it,” Moses says.

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, the founder of the March and March organisation in South Africa which focuses on illegal immigration, told The Namibian that Namibians were not targeted during the demonstrations.