Zulu king in rapid retreat as toll climbs

Mozambican national Emmanuel Sithole is attacked in Alexandra township. Photo / Greatstock/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Monarch condemns anti-immigrant attacks which followed critical speech .

Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini condemned attacks on foreign nationals as he tried to deflect criticism that his comments last month fuelled violence that left at least seven people dead.

Immigrants must be protected, Zwelithini told thousands of members of South Africa's biggest ethnic group yesterday at a stadium in Durban. Authorities must investigate the possibility of a "third force" that was instigating the violence under the guise of Zulus, he said.

The monarch was cited by Durban's Mercury newspaper on March 23 as saying in a speech that foreigners were depriving South Africans of economic opportunities and should return home. While the King's office said his comments were misinterpreted, Johannesburg-based news channel eNCA has broadcast an audio recording which it said was Zwelithini speaking in Zulu calling on immigrants to "take their bags and go back to where they come from".

"There are many vile things being written in the news about me and the Zulu people," Zwelithini told his supporters.

"I ask you to calm down and have peace as many people have died and I ask you to avoid the trap being set."

Attacks against immigrants that began in Durban less than two weeks ago spread to Johannesburg last week. A Mozambican man's murder in Alexandra township in Johannesburg on April 18 was captured by photographs on the front page of the Sunday Times.

Image 1 of 16: A women covered in soot gestures and shouts towards foreign nationals outside the Jeppies Hostles. Photo / Getty Images

In January, at least six people died during attacks and looting of shops owned by mainly Somalis, Ethiopians and Pakistanis around Johannesburg.

"Whether it be in rural or urban areas I ask all to adhere to the rule of law and show that we know how to behave," Zwelithini said.

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the leader of South Africa's Inkatha Freedom Party and a member of the Zulu royal family, also called for an end to attacks against immigrants.

"Chasing out other nations will not solve our problems because they are our problems," he told the crowd.

Several Zulu members in the crowd wore traditional garb, such as animal skins, and sang and danced with spears.

The anti-foreigner violence is the worst since 2008, when about 60 people were killed. The tension comes against the backdrop of a weakening economy and a 24 per cent jobless rate. While the Government blames criminals rather than xenophobia for much of the violence, the presence of thousands of immigrants in South African townships has stoked resentment among some locals who see them as competitors for jobs and housing.

President Jacob Zuma cancelled a state visit to Indonesia this week and visited a displacement camp for foreign nationals to reassure them that the Government is doing all it can to resolve the violence.

Africa governments have condemned the violence, and companies have repatriated South African employees working in Mozambique following threats of reprisal attacks.