The names of the seven people killed during xenophobic violence which erupted in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the past weeks, were released by the inter-ministerial committee on migration on Tuesday.

Four foreign nationals and three South Africans were identified. They are:

– Marcus Natas, from Ethiopia, who was killed as a result of a petrol bombing attack in Umlazi, east of KwaZulu-Natal.

– A Zimbabwean man known only as Muvo and Mozambican Dava Sebaastio were both attacked by mobs in Chatsworth, south of Durban, and Verulam, north of Durban respectively.

– Shaofic Shaof Ul Alam, from Bangladesh, was shot and killed in Plessislaer, Pietermaritzburg.

– The three South African who died are Thabo Owen Mzobe, Ayanda Dlamini and Petros Dlamini. They were killed in Ntuzuma, Bhekithemba and Chatsworth in KwaZulu-Natal respectively.

The committee, which is led by Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, includes the ministers of home affairs, small business development as well as police.

“Once again the [committee] on behalf of the South African nation extends its deepest condolences to the families of those deceased and wishes those injured a speedy recovery.”

Three South Africans and a Somali national have been arrested in connection with three of the deaths. Investigations into the other deaths were continuing, the committee said.

The committee was formed to address the underlying causes of the tensions between locals and foreign nationals. It was satisfied with the fact that peace and calm had returned to the communities that were affected by violent attacks.

A total of 165 undocumented migrants had been arrested and 265 people were arrested for public violence across the country to date.

Dedicated courts had been set up in parts of KwaZulu-Natal to deal the cases against those involved in the crimes against foreign nationals, the committee said.

“As of now the dedicated courts have been put into place in Chatsworth, Umlazi, Ntuzuma, and Durban Magistrate Court.”

A total of 1 997 undocumented foreign nationals from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania had been repatriated, the committee heard. News24