South Africa’s biggest city Johannesburg has seen looting and torching of shops, many of which are operated by African migrant communities.

It's attracting criticism from other African nations in the week that political and business leaders from at least 28 countries gather in Cape Town ahead of the beginning of the African edition of the World Economic Forum.

Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda is chairperson of the African Diaspora Forum, a migrant group in Johannesburg, which was created in response to earlier xenophobic attacks.

(Pic: Two men take a vending machine from a shop during the unrest on Monday; Credit: AFP)