About 300 foreigners mainly Rwandan nationals have seek protection at Catholic’s St Ignatius Church in Lusaka.
They fled their homes after xenophobic attacks by some Zambians on Monday and Tuesday accusing them of being behind the suspected ritual killings in the shanty townships.
Some Zambians ran amok looting 60 shops belonging to Rwandanese whom they accused of using human being organs for charms in their businesses.
President Edgar Lungu visited them on Thursday morning and assured them of State protection. He urged them to go back to their homes saying the situation had been normalised.
President Lungu later said:
We have spoken of the collective shame of the nation at the recent criminal attacks on some foreign nationals in the wake of recent ritual murders.
We took time to address the now more than 300 refugees mainly Rwandese, Burundese and Congolese sheltering at St Ignatius Church parish in Lusaka.
I am personally ashamed that some of our citizens could take to such criminality to attack foreigners.
“I take full responsibility on behalf of the Zambian people. I also assure you of full protection and security of your person and property.”
The senseless violence in some parts of Lusaka are, in our view, acts of criminality rather xenophobic.
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