Foreign-run shops shuttered as Gansbaai remains calm on June 30, IOL reports

According to IOL, Gansbaai was largely calm on the morning of June 30 as police carried out foot patrols through the town, but shops run by foreign nationals remained closed after residents said they had driven them out.

Shops sealed, residents say foreigners driven out

According to IOL, barber shops and spaza shops once run by foreign nationals stood shuttered and residents said none remained in the township. Those who remained in Gansbaai, residents said, were sheltering in the town’s coloured neighbourhoods.

Town atmosphere and local reaction

According to IOL, police conducted foot patrols and there was little visible sign of trouble in Gansbaai on Tuesday morning. At one house, music blared from a car parked in the driveway, where residents said they were celebrating the removal of the foreign nationals.

Claims of attack and personal testimony

According to IOL, Sarah Plaatjies, a 53-year-old resident of the Masakhane township, said a group of foreign nationals had attacked her with knobkieries and set their dog, a Jack Russell, on her. Plaatjies was quoted as saying:

“The dogs bit me they set the dog loose on me,” Plaatjies said. “I was almost torn apart by the dog.”

“They bruised my arms black and blue and nearly tore me apart.”

“They hurt me, very badly.”

“I am so glad they are gone.”

“Our police must take lessons from the police in Pretoria.”

Wider displacement in the Overberg

According to IOL, about 1,500 people from the Masakhane informal settlement marched on the community in early June, and more than 200 foreign nationals, mainly Malawians and Mozambicans, fled their homes. Some sheltered in community halls while others hid in dunes and mountains overnight.

According to IOL, about 150 people were moved from Gansbaai to the Stanford community hall, where authorities said most of those sheltering across the Overberg were undocumented. During IOL’s visit to Kleinmond on Tuesday morning, it was also quiet.

Displacement and damage across the region

According to IOL, in Hermanus, 38 displaced people were housed on a municipal farm, and a bus sent by the Mozambican embassy collected those who wanted to go home. In Mossel Bay, along the Garden Route, the situation was worse: about 55 shacks were torched and the Mozambican government said five of its citizens had been killed there.

Investigation and response

According to IOL, the Western Cape government condemned the violence and intimidation directed at foreign nationals and said the situation in the Overberg had stabilised.