Even the Kenyan High Commissioner to South Africa, Thomas Amolo, was also attacked in a Johannesburg suburb as he visited Kenyans living there.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said he had authorised the immediate evacuation of all Kenyans who had requested to be lifted home after losing their ho u sehold goods in the attacks.
"Some Kenyans were physically attacked, this is something regrettable. I continue expressing regret that this can happen to Africans in an African country. It i s something really regrettable because we don't expect this to happen," Wetangula said Friday.
The minister said he had ordered the evacuation of a Kenyan woman, Anne Njogu, the mother of a five-month old baby whose small-scale business was raided in Prim r ose area of Johannesburg earlier in the week and property, including all household goods, looted.
He did not mince words on the need to evacuate Kenyans.
"We cannot evacuate those who have not requested to be evacuated but as a government, we have a running responsibility to protect our nationals if the situation gets to the need to do that," he told a news conference Friday.
The minister said some Kenyans in Cape Town were attacked Thursday and the attacks had continued in other smaller towns in South Africa.
The Kenyan ambassador there has sought for a meeting with South Africa's Security and Safety Minister to discuss the security of Kenyan nationals in South Africa.
Another Kenyan, Pauline Njeri, a cellphone shop owner, lost her entire stock in the attacks, which has been spreading over two weeks now.
Political analysts have blamed the attacks on the failure of the South African government to alleviate poverty among the low-income earners, saying independence from white minority rule was yet to sink down to the poor in the slums.
The government estimates that there are at least 20,000 Kenyans living and working in South Africa, either as traders, curio shop owners, university dons or students.
Nairobi - 23/05/2008
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