The Department of International Relations and Coperation (DIRCO) has confirmed it has received official communication from Rwandan government that its president will no longer be attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa meeting in Cape Town.

Reports suggest that other countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Malawi have withdrawn their participation as well, citing the recent violence and the looting of shops belonging to foreign nationals especially in Gauteng.

Zambia has also cancelled a scheduled friendly match with Bafana Bafana citing security concerns. DIRCO says it has not received any official communication from the DRC and Malawi governments.

DIRCO spokesperson, Lunga Ngqengelele, says Rwanda’s withdrawal from WEF has nothing to do with the violence and looting:

“I can confirm that we did receive confirmation from Rwanda that the president has withdrawn but we did not get indication that it is because of the sporadic violence taking place in South Africa at the moment. With DRC and Malawi have not received any official correspondent so we are unable to confirm if they are not coming or they are coming.”

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