Xenophobic attacks on Zimbabweans living in South Africa, particularly in 2008, were a brainchild of Zimbabwe's opposition parties to cause political unrest in both countries, former South African President Thabo Mbeki has said.
Over the years, foreigners living in South Africa have endured periodic xenophobic attacks targeting mainly other Africans earning a living there.
Addressing students at the University of South Africa in Johannesburg last week, President Mbeki singled out the 2008 xenophobic attacks on Zimbabweans, saying there was an intelligence document with names, dates and venues where the Zimbabwean opposition perpetrators met to plan an operation to drive Zimbabweans back home to vote out the then President Robert Mugabe, a plan that failed.
"Historically, the African community here (South Africa) has never been xenophobic about other Africans. So, 2008 all manner of trouble breaks out in Alexandra township in Johannesburg, attacks on these foreigners, particularly Zimbabweans.
"Then it spread elsewhere. Xenophobia, Afrophobia. So, I say when I saw that, as president, I recognised that this is not Alexandra township. Alexandra, for decades, has had Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, and so on. There was never ever this kind of conflict.
"Why? There is a mistake we made as government, and that is not to declassify an intelligence document about what happened in Alexandra in 2008. That thing was organised to drive the Zimbabweans out of the country back to Zimbabwe because there were elections in Zimbabwe," he said.
Mr Mbeki, who served as president of South Africa from 1999 to 2008, said contrary to popular beliefs, the attacks were not xenophobic but politically motivated.
"They were organised, systematic and planned for political purposes. People were being driven out; they were going to vote against Bob (former President Mugabe) there. There is an intelligence report which has got the names and the dates and venues where people met and planned this and so on. It is presented as a xenophobic attack by the people of Alex against others: it was wrong," he said.
The opposition has over the years been known for championing despondency in the country, but all its efforts have continued to prove futile.
