South Africa's government has moved to challenge what it describes as inaccurate international reporting on recent deaths involving foreign nationals, announcing plans to engage directly with the World Health Organization (WHO) over its characterization of the incidents.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) first signaled the government's concerns through spokesperson Chrispin Phiri, who said authorities would engage the WHO to correct what it viewed as misleading portrayals of fatalities linked to the country's escalating immigration tensions.
The move followed comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said at least five Ethiopian and five Mozambican nationals had been killed, while thousands more were displaced amid anti-immigrant protests in South Africa.
Phiri disputed the characterization of the deaths involving Ethiopian nationals, saying available information indicated that the incidents stemmed from organized crime rather than xenophobic violence.
"These incidents are under active investigation by law enforcement," Phiri said, adding that the South African Police Service was also investigating the cases involving Mozambican nationals.
