SA’s global standing takes knock over xenophobic attacks
South Africa (SA) has taken a battering on the international front as ongoing xenophobic attacks and hateful rhetoric against foreigners have sparked condemnation from several African countries and international bodies, notes Legalbrief Africa. Over the past week, condemnation has come from Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, the UN and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, among others. According to Moneyweb, SA's international standing has taken a knock over the attacks. It says the rising incidence of xenophobia in SA is attracting concern across the continent as the victims are almost entirely black Africans. SA last week saw an anti-immigrant march through Johannesburg inner city suburbs such as Hillbrow, Yeoville and Berea, organised by March and March and other affiliated groups. The claimed purpose? To declare these high immigrant suburbs as no longer being ‘no-go zones’. An earlier march through the Durban CBD in the KwaZulu-Natal Province brought the city centre to a standstill. What started as a ‘clean up campaign’ quickly devolved into a campaign of harassment against foreigners who are blamed by participants for rising crime and joblessness. Meanwhile, a group calling itself Concerned Citizens and the Voters of SA called for a countrywide shutdown for today (Monday) over the presence of millions of foreigners who it demands be returned to their home countries, whether documented or not. This messaging has not gone unnoticed abroad, with growing concerns of retaliation against SA businesses on the continent.
Last week Ghana summoned acting South African High Commissioner Thando Dalamba for a demarche over ‘continuous xenophobic attacks on Ghanaians and other Africans living in SA,’ according to a post on X by Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa. The UN also voiced concern over reports of xenophobic attacks and acts of harassment and intimidation against migrants and foreign nationals in parts of SA. Guterres condemned ‘these criminal acts perpetrated by individuals inciting violence and exploiting socio-economic conditions’. ‘Violence, vigilantism and all forms of incitement to hatred have no place in an inclusive, democratic society governed by the rule of law and respect for human rights.’ Similar condemnations came from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which says it is ‘alarmed by allegations of assaults and harassment carried out by vigilante groups targeting individuals perceived to be undocumented migrants’, states Moneyweb. These attacks form part of a pattern dating back to 1998 when three foreign nationals were killed in Johannesburg. The commission called on the SA Government to conduct prompt and thorough investigations into all reported incidents of violence and intimidation against foreign nationals, and to take decisive steps to dismantle vigilante groups. Also taking a strong stance against anti-immigrant violence is SA opposition leader Julius Malema. ‘There is no Zimbabwe that took your land from you. There is no Zimbabwe that took your tender from you. There is no Zimbabwe that took your job from you. There are no jobs.’ March and March sprang up in 2025 as a rallying point for anti-immigrant voices, under the leadership of former radio personality Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, who defends citizen arrests of illegal migrants on the radio show.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) called on the SA Government to ‘urgently safeguard Nigerians and other black immigrants amid reports of renewed xenophobic attacks’. ‘While many expected a de-escalation of tensions following earlier engagements between both governments, the situation on the ground is deteriorating,’ said NiDCOM chair Abike Dabiri-Erewa. Members of another anti-immigrant group, Operation Dudula, are reported to have conducted ‘worker audits’ of businesses in the Johannesburg area to determine if illegal migrants were being employed. Moneyweb understands from one employer that where undocumented workers are found to exist, those positions are being offered to South Africans for a fee of R2 000 or more. Immigration is likely to be an incendiary issue with local government elections coming up in November, with parties such as ActionSA, Operation Dudula, MKP and Patriotic Alliance taking strong anti-illegal immigration positions. President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged public concerns about illegal migration in his 27 April Freedom Day address, but warned that these must not breed prejudice or xenophobic violence. The Department of Home Affairs is also clamping down on illegal migration, including taking action against businesses hiring undocumented foreigners at the expense of South Africans. It is also attempting to root out corruption in the immigration system.
Nigeria is planning to repatriate its nationals in SA willing to return home voluntarily amid growing fears that recent attacks on foreigners there could escalate, reports BBC News. Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said 130 applicants had already registered for the exercise, adding that the number was expected to rise. She expressed President Bola Tinubu's concern about the attacks, and condemned the violence against foreign nationals and demonstrations characterised by ‘xenophobic rhetoric, hate speeches and incendiary anti-migrant statements’. Nigeria has summoned SA’s acting High Commissioner over the issue. Nigeria was formally expected to convey its ‘profound concern’ at a meeting today over the incidents, saying they could affect existing relations between the countries, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. The meeting was to focus on recent marches held by anti-immigrant groups and ‘documented instances of mistreatment of Nigerian citizens and attacks on their businesses’, it said. On Sunday, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said: ‘Nigerian lives and businesses in South Africa must not continue to be put at risk, and we remain committed to working to explore with South Africa ways to put an end to this.’ She cited the killing of two Nigerians in separate incidents involving local security personnel, insisting that her government was demanding justice. She said the Nigerian President's priority was for the safety of citizens and ‘consequently, arrangements are currently under way to collate details of Nigerians in SA for voluntary repatriation flights for those seeking assistance to return home’.
Four Ethiopian nationals have also been killed in recent weeks, local media reported, while there have been attacks on citizens of other African countries. As Africa's most industrialised country, people from elsewhere in the continent have long travelled to SA to seek work. But some South Africans accuse foreigners of being in the country illegally, taking jobs from locals and having links to crime, especially drugs trafficking. Anti-immigrant groups have been stopping people outside hospitals and schools demanding to see their identity papers. SA is home to about 2.4m migrants, just less than 4% of the population, according to official figures. However, many more are thought to be in the country unofficially. Most come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labour to their wealthy neighbour, according to BBC News. A smaller number come from Nigeria.
The Zimbabwe Consulate in Cape Town is assisting 67 nationals and 21 children who were evicted from their homes in Nompumelelo outside KuGompo the previous weekend. It has been asked to repatriate the victims who are now living in the veld. There are also reports of foreign-owned shops being shut down by xenophobic gangs in the Eastern Cape, with similar anti-immigrant campaigns taking place in Durban. Moneyweb reports that the campaigns have been styled as ‘clean-up’ operations by groups such as March and March, but video evidence shows what appear to be locals confronting foreigners and demanding that they leave SA. ‘We are xenophobic,’ reads a message from protest organisers. ‘We want all foreigners, documented or not, out of this country as a matter of urgency.’ Somalian shop owners were gunned down in the Johannesburg CBD, apparently as part of an escalating turf war. Ward 59 councillor Sthembiso Hlatshwayo said he had approached the Gauteng Premier’s office to intervene, but had not received a response. ‘Things are worse as we speak, and they are going to be worse still. They are killing each other. Each and every week, they kill two; it is a reality,’ he told eNCA.
Ramaphosa last Monday used his Freedom Day speech to speak out against recent incidents of xenophobia. According to The Citizen, on the day marking SA’s transition to democracy, the President stressed that it was ‘the leaders and people of Africa (that) kept our struggle alive’. He said South Africans should not let their concerns turn into xenophobia. ‘It cannot be, and it must never be, that we trample into the dust the African fellowship that made our freedom possible,’ he said. SA's Minister of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs and leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Velenkosini Hlabisa, has voiced grave concerns regarding the escalating crisis of illegal immigration in SA, warning that it could soon reach a breaking point, reports The Star. ‘... We are just at a tipping point where this problem is going to explode,’ he stated. Hlabisa said despite the IFP being part of the government of national unity (GNU), the party holds strong views about the challenge brought by illegal immigration. ‘The thing that we are going to pursue, as we are part of the GNU, is to manage migration humanely and strategically … What is good about being part of the GNU is that we maintain our view that undocumented foreign nationals, with no specialised skills, in SA, must go back to their respective countries,’ he said.
Research has revealed that xenophobic violence is a long-standing feature of democratic SA, states Xenowatch, which analyses xenophobic trends. Violent incidents were recorded since 1994, riddled throughout all of SA’s nine provinces. Gauteng, Western Cape, KZN and the Eastern Cape are the worst affected. The violence occurs mostly in locations (informal settlements and townships), considered hotspots, in the periphery of the country’s major cities or metropolitan municipalities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, eThekwini and Tshwane. This is not surprising, since for economic reasons these low-income locations are commonly the destination of most domestic and international migrants in the country. Since 2008, there have been an average of 59 incidents of xenophobic violence recorded per year. Xenophobic violence in SA is generally a collective action (i.e, a type of collective violence) carried out by groups (large or small) of ordinary members of the public, often mobilised by local leaders (formal or informal) and influential groups or individuals to further their own political and economic interests. It is a constant and increasing threat to lives and livelihoods of foreign nationals, and others deemed ‘outsiders’. Target groups and individuals are regularly killed, assaulted, injured, and displaced, and their property and livelihoods assets looted, destroyed, or appropriated. However, as noted, this violence has consequences and implications that extend far beyond the targeted groups. By undermining the country’s socio-economic prosperity, nation building, security and rule of law, xenophobic violence has negative socio-economic, political and security implications for all country residents, foreign and citizens.
In Uganda, dozens of foreigners were detained in a crackdown on illegal migration that the Internal Affairs Ministry suggested was linked to human traffickers and cyberscam operations, reports The Independent. At least 231 people have been detained since last Monday in operations that targeted a group of Nigerians living in the country's north, as well as another group of foreigners living together in a closed compound in Kampala, the capital. The second group included people from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Ghana, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Malaysia, all of whom were staying in ‘a highly restricted, self-contained apartment complex equipped with its own restaurant and internal facilities designed to restrict movement’, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Thirty-six of the 169 people found in the compound were women. Authorities say they acted on intelligence showing large groups of foreigners living or working in Uganda without the necessary papers to do so. Many didn’t have passports, the Ministry said. ‘Some individuals have claimed they were trafficked into Uganda with promises of employment,’ the statement said. ‘Others were engaged in cyber-scamming activities. A few were found in possession of materials suggesting involvement in other criminal activities.’ Simon Mundeyi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, told AP that the trafficking victims and the overstayers would be helped to leave Uganda after buying their own tickets, he said, while those authorities identify as suspected ringleaders of trafficking will be charged and could eventually face deportation.