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4 suspects in court over death of Emmanuel Sithole

Four suspects have appeared in court for killing Emmanuel Sithole in the xenophobic attacks.

4 suspects in court over death of Emmanuel Sithole

Earlier in Alexandra, four men appeared briefly in court over the incident that raised the pressure on South Africa’s government to take tougher action.

The four are accused of murdering a Mozambican national. The death of Emmanuel Sithole was caught on camera.

However, a tribal leader blamed for inciting deadly xenophobic violence in South Africa claimed he was misquoted and demanded an official investigation into the media.

Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini on Monday denied whipping up xenophobic hatred in South Africa after he was accused of triggering violence that has left at least seven people dead and forced thousands from their homes.

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Zwelithini had made an angry speech last month blaming immigrants for rising crime and saying they must leave the country, in an outburst seen as inciting the spate of attacks on Zimbabweans, Somalians, Malawians and other foreigners.

Addressing a tribal gathering of several thousand Zulus in the port city of Durban the king insisted he had been misrepresented.

"My speech... was directed at the police, calling for stricter law enforcement, but that was never reported," he said.

"The public was instead given another side of my speech, which has been twisted and misrepresented.

"This violence directed at our brothers and sisters is shameful."

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South African authorities have struggled to contain mobs in the economic capital Johannesburg and Durban who have been hunting down foreigners.

At least seven people have been killed and 307 suspects arrested in the worst ethnic violence since 2008, when 62 people died, mainly in Johannesburg's townships.

Millions of South Africans, however,, condemned the atrocious killings and abhor xenophobia and all related intolerances.

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