Mourners interrupted the funeral for Robert Mugabe with boos and catcalls Saturday as South African president Cyril Ramaphosa tried to eulogize the ousted dictator of Zimbabawe.

A recent wave of anti-immigrant violence in Johannesburg, South Africa has killed twelve people and caused widespread looting, forcing hundreds of Zimbabwean and other foreign nationals into shelters after mobs destroyed their businesses and homes.

“I stand before you as a fellow African to express my regret and apologize for what has happened in our country,” Ramaphosa said in an attempt to appease the crowd, Agence France-Presse reported.

Mugabe, 95, Zimbabwe’s strongman for nearly four decades, died Sept. 6 in Singapore after a lengthy illness. Thousands attended his funeral at a stadium in Harare, the nation’s capital.