Nigerians are horrible, South African politician sparks outrage at farewell event

A South African woman, who identified herself as Thabile Sibeko, president of the Inizwe Nathi Party, made inflammatory remarks while bidding farewell to Nigerians being repatriated from South Africa. Sibeko spoke to newsmen at the airport as the first batch of 262 Nigerians, including women and children, prepared to depart following escalating anti-immigrant violence.

“

I’m here to bid farewell to Nigeria, to make sure that they are leaving our country and to say to them bye-bye, Nigeria. Thank you for all you contributed to our country.

Sibeko directly addressed the departing Nigerians, saying, "I’m here to bid farewell to Nigeria, to make sure that they are leaving our country and to say to them bye-bye, Nigeria. Thank you for all you contributed to our country." She added, "We did not appreciate the wrongs that you have done, and we hope that you have learned a lesson, and we want to encourage them when they go to other countries, they must take care of other countries."

“

We did not appreciate the wrongs that you have done, and we hope that you have learned a lesson, and we want to encourage them when they go to other countries, they must take care of other countries.

She further alleged that Nigerians are responsible for drug-related issues in South Africa, claiming, "Today we’ve got zombies in our streets as our children because of them, and that has cut deep in our hearts and that has made us to resent them with all that we have." Sibeko insisted, "Nigeria is horrible, these people are horrible." She stated, "They’ve killed our children with drugs, and that is the reason why we are so strong on Nigeria because of their behaviour."

“

Today we’ve got zombies in our streets as our children because of them, and that has cut deep in our hearts and that has made us to resent them with all that we have.

It remains unverified whether the Inizwe Nathi Party is a registered political party in South Africa, as searches of official databases yielded no results. Sibeko's comments come amid weeks of anti-foreigner violence across South Africa, where gangs have demanded undocumented foreigners leave by June 30. While Sibeko directed harsh criticism at Nigerians, she differentiated them from other foreign nationals, saying, "to others we say thank you for being here, especially those who took care of our country."

“

Nigeria is horrible, these people are horrible.