Xenophobic attacks happen daily in S.A – Kacey Moore

Xenophobic attacks in South Africa are not new as violence is visited on nationals of other African countries everyday by locals, Ghanaian singer Kacey Moore has said.

Kacey Moore, who has lived in South Africa for over a decade, disclosed that xenophobia was a daily affair in South Africa.

According to him, the attacks have only made headlines in recent times because of the internet, making it easier for news access.

Sharing his experience with Prince Benjamin on the Class Drive on Class91.3FM on Tuesday 28 March, he said: “Xenophobia is something that happens all the time, every day I would say. Luckily for me, I lived in a white neighbourhood, so if you were a black South African, you [couldn’t] come to where I am. You walk two minutes and the white people will call the police on you.

“However in other places, it happens every day. I have seen policemen cuff Nigerians to their cars and drag them on the streets and there are videos to show that. So xenophobia is not just something that’s just happening. What’s happening now, it’s easier for people to get to know about it because of the internet and most of the events happen in isolation, so maybe at the time it was happening there was nobody to take a video so that one won’t be heard or the victim is an illegal immigrant who doesn’t have the papers so he can’t even go to the police, but we know about these things. We know of our friends who are dying every day because somebody thought: ‘why does he drive this car and I don’t?’ So it’s something that happens every time.”

Kacey Moore, who was Ghana’s representative in the 2014 Big Brother Hotshot reality show in South Africa, disclosed that his life was threatened by the locals when he performed a song titled ‘Xenophobia’ while in the Big Brother House.

“I wrote Xenophobia when I was in South Africa. I performed Xenophobia to 50 million Africans in the Big Brother House and I got threats. South Africans threatened they were going to kill me when I came out [because] I’m staying in their country and I’m painting them black and weeks after I left the Big Brother House, there were xenophobic attacks everywhere…and people said ‘so Kacey was right’.

The highlife composer and songwriter noted that his music made him popular in South Africa, which brought him privileges including residing in the safety of a predominantly white neighbourhood.