By A Correspondent| Retired leader of Inkatha Freedom Party, Prince Buthelezi on Sunday upset his long time followers who were violently protesting in the area around Jeppestown Hostels demanding for the immediate removal of foreigners in South Africa.

The once very respected traditional and political leader of the Amazulu biased party got the crowd angry when he told them that xenophobic violence seen in the past few days is unacceptable.

In his attempt to end the violence, which has left several foreigners dead and a trail of destruction in Gauteng, Prince Buthelezi addressed the unruly crowd of hostel residents in their Hostels in Jeppestown.

Earlier, the hostel dwellers had marched along Jules Street in Malvern, demanding that foreigners go home.

Buthelezi told the crowd:

“Lives have been lost and property damaged. There has been looting, burning and violence.

“The world is watching and we are being judged. What we have seen in the past few days is unacceptable. The attacks on foreigners and their businesses are purely xenophobic – a violation of human rights and our constitution. Looting and destruction of property is a crime, full stop. Assault is always wrong.”

Citing the targeting of MTN stores in Nigeria, Nigerian leaders’ boycott of the World Economic Forum on Africa and the cancellation of a soccer match against Bafana Bafana by the Zambian Soccer Association, he warned:

“Don’t think these things have no consequences. There will be sanctions against us for what we are doing.”

His words upset most of those in the crowd, who left in protest.

The group marched away from him towards Hillbrow suburb in Johannesburg Central which houses about a million people predominately foreigners from across Africa and Asia.

The group was eventually blocked by a heavy police presence. The protesters demanded police to invite President Cyril Ramaphosa to address them within the next twenty four hours on how he is going to solve their problem with foreigners.