By IBRAHIM LOT
South Africa is once again confronting a resurgence of xenophobic violence and anti-migrant sentiment. Fuelled by deepening economic hardship and rising unemployment, the crisis has displaced thousands of foreign nationals, strained diplomatic relations across Africa and revived difficult questions about the country’s commitment to the pan-African ideals that once inspired its liberation struggle.
South Africa is experiencing a severe resurgence of xenophobic violence and anti-migrant sentiment. Driven by compounding socio-economic pressures, vigilante groups have reportedly issued a July 30 ultimatum demanding that undocumented foreigners leave the country, triggering widespread displacement and prompting several African nations to repatriate their citizens.
Over the years, many South Africans have increasingly portrayed African migrants in a negative light, blaming them for a range of post-apartheid challenges, including crime, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, scams and even witchcraft. Such narratives often depict migrants as accumulating wealth through immoral and anti-social means at the expense of local communities. The current wave of anti-foreigner sentiment has been intensified by the country’s worsening economic conditions, including an unemployment rate of more than 40 per cent.
Anti-immigration movements and vigilante groups have targeted both documented and undocumented migrants from African and Asian countries, accusing them of taking jobs, contributing to crime and placing additional pressure on already stretched public services. Armed groups have staged demonstrations in major cities such as Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, while foreign-owned businesses have been targeted during outbreaks of violence.
Thousands of foreign nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers, have been forced to flee their homes. Many have sought temporary shelter in community halls or around police stations and Home Affairs offices in search of safety and basic necessities. Several deaths have also been reported.
Human rights organisations have expressed concern that law enforcement responses have often been inadequate, raising serious questions about the protection of vulnerable communities. As threats against migrants continue to escalate, several African countries have commenced evacuation and voluntary repatriation exercises for their nationals.
The Nigerian Consulate, working alongside officials from Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, has coordinated efforts to assist citizens wishing to return home. The crisis has inevitably heightened diplomatic tensions across the continent.
South Africa has long attracted migrants from across Africa, both legally and illegally. According to Statistics South Africa, the country had approximately 2.4 million foreign nationals in 2022, representing about 3.7 per cent of its estimated population of 65 million people.
Many South Africans argue that undocumented migration contributes to unemployment and places additional strain on healthcare, education and other public services.
Since 2008, South Africa has witnessed three major waves of anti-immigration violence, resulting in deaths, injuries and widespread destruction and looting of property. Much of the hostility has been directed at nationals from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Nigeria and Ghana.
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has accused the South African government of failing to strongly condemn attacks against Nigerian nationals, arguing that the recurring violence has placed significant strain on relations between both countries despite Nigeria’s immense contributions to South Africa’s liberation from apartheid.
Nigeria played a pivotal role in the anti-apartheid struggle, committing substantial diplomatic, financial and material resources to support South Africa’s liberation movement.
Although geographically distant, Nigeria became one of the foremost supporters of the struggle, providing financial assistance to liberation movements such as the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).
The Nigerian Government also established the Southern Africa Relief Fund, through which public servants voluntarily contributed portions of their salaries to finance liberation activities and educational programmes.
Nigeria further issued hundreds of passports to South African exiles and freedom fighters, enabling them to travel internationally and campaign against apartheid. It hosted prominent South African exiles, including Thabo Mbeki, while offering scholarships to displaced South African students.
In addition, Nigeria imposed sanctions against the apartheid regime, championed South Africa’s expulsion from the Commonwealth, chaired the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid for three decades and boycotted major international sporting events in protest against racial segregation.
Responding to the growing crisis, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced new measures aimed at addressing irregular migration. He stated that employers who hire undocumented migrants would face tougher penalties and disclosed plans to establish dedicated courts to accelerate deportation proceedings, alongside the creation of a biometric register to combat identity fraud.
“Many South Africans are asking difficult but legitimate questions,” Ramaphosa said.
“Yet we must recognise that illegal immigration is not the cause of all our economic challenges. Our country, like many others throughout history, is a product of migration. It is the reason for our diversity and contributes to our vibrancy.”
The president also warned citizens against taking the law into their own hands, stressing that immigration enforcement remains solely the responsibility of the state. The roots of the current crisis stretch back many years. In 2008, xenophobic attacks that began in Alexandra, Johannesburg, spread rapidly across the country, leaving at least 62 people dead. Another wave of violence erupted in 2015, once again claiming lives and reigniting fears about anti-foreigner sentiment.
These recurring attacks have damaged South Africa’s reputation as one of Africa’s leading democracies and a destination for migrants seeking security and economic opportunity.
Today, many of the country’s post-apartheid challenges, including crime, unemployment and poverty, continue to be blamed on foreign nationals. Ironically, those who suffer most from xenophobic violence are often poor and vulnerable African migrants. Some scholars describe the phenomenon as “Afrophobia”, while renowned academic Achille Mbembe refers to it as “black-on-black racism”. The recurring violence has also affected perceptions of South Africa across Africa, with many arguing that hostility towards fellow Africans contradicts the spirit of solidarity that defined the struggle against apartheid.
In a nation that once endured systematic oppression, historical experiences appear to have contributed to perceptions of migrants as outsiders who threaten social and economic stability. These narratives continue to fuel repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed concern over reports of xenophobic harassment, discrimination and attacks in South Africa.
Similarly, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has urged the South African Government to thoroughly investigate attacks against foreign nationals, ensure accountability for perpetrators and provide adequate protection for affected communities.
South Africa is also a signatory to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, under which violence against foreign nationals remains a matter of continuing international concern. The dynamics of intermarriage further illustrate both the opportunities for integration and the tensions within South African society.
Many foreign nationals have successfully integrated into local communities through marriage, fostering cultural exchange and social cohesion. Yet families created through such unions have not been spared xenophobic hostility, particularly in communities where anti-migrant sentiment remains deeply entrenched.
South Africa can overcome xenophobia, but doing so will require far more than stricter border controls or immigration enforcement. It demands addressing the underlying socio-economic conditions that fuel resentment, ensuring the consistent application of the law, prosecuting perpetrators of violence, resisting the temptation to scapegoat foreign nationals for broader national challenges and rebuilding damaged diplomatic relationships across the continent.
Above all, it requires a renewed commitment to the ideals of pan-African solidarity that once earned South Africa the admiration and unwavering support of fellow African nations.