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SOUTH AFRICA AND ‘AFROPHOBIA’
The attacks and killings of Nigerians and other Africans are senseless
South Africa is once again engulfed in a vicious pattern of violence against fellow Africans—an ugly reality that can no longer be softened by the language of Xenophobia. What is unfolding is more accurately described as Afrophobia: a targeted campaign of hate against black African nationals. And the current attacks are as horrifying as they are revealing. Mobs have stormed public hospitals, ordering patients, including pregnant women from other African countries, out of wards as though they were less than human. Businesses owned by foreign nationals have been looted and set ablaze. On the streets, men and women are harassed, beaten, and hunted. There are chilling reports of victims being killed even as they begged for their lives. The sheer inhumanity of these acts should shock the conscience of the continent and the world.
These recurring eruptions of violence are often justified by perpetrators on economic grounds. Yet such claims collapse under scrutiny. The uncomfortable truth is that more than 80 per cent of South Africa’s economy remains in the hands of the white minority, who constitute less than nine per cent of their population. African migrants are not the architects of inequality in South Africa; they are, in many cases, fellow victims of it. The targeting of black foreigners is therefore not only morally indefensible but intellectually dishonest—a tragic expression of ignorance and misdirected anger. Even more troubling is the extent to which Afrophobia has seeped into South Africa’s political discourse. It is not merely a fringe sentiment; it is too often legitimised, amplified, or tolerated by influential voices within and outside government. This normalisation of hostility has emboldened perpetrators and created an environment in which violence becomes cyclical and predictable.
Against this backdrop, the consistent and principled rejection of Afrophobia by Julius Malema, leader of the radical party, Economic Freedom Fighters deserves commendation. As Malema has told his compatriots many times, given the support that South Africa received from African countries during the struggle against apartheid and the reality that economic power is in the hands of the white minority, there is no justification for victimising black Africans. Malema’s emphasis on African unity stands in stark contrast to the dangerous rhetoric that fuels division and violence by those who refuse to accept that police and the courts are the right instrument for handling illegal activities by foreigners, not lynch mobs.
It should indeed worry the South African government that their country has become notorious for this heinous hate crime. In its 2007 report, the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of the African Union stated that “despite the solidarity and comradeship between black South Africans and the rest of the people of sub-Saharan Africa during the decades of struggle against apartheid and for liberation, foreigners, mostly of African descent, are being subjected to brutality and detention. Xenophobia against Africans is currently on the rise and should be nipped in the bud”. It is unfortunate that 19 years after that report, the situation has only worsened. In the past six weeks, many unemployed South African nationals (including those with neither education nor skills) have taken the law into their hands and exacted brutal justice on some other foreign nationals on grounds of taking their jobs.
Like previous xenophobic attacks that now define South Africa, there were warnings that the nationals of other African countries running shops, stalls and other businesses within the informal economy were gradually becoming endangered. But the South African authorities have not shown sufficient will to deal with the problem. Yet, as we have reiterated in the past, it is also in the interest of South Africa to protect Nigerians from what has become hate mongering. Considering that South Africans also do businesses and are allowed to move freely in our country without let or hindrance, the federal government must make it clear to their authorities that they bear responsibility for the lives of our nationals.
The time has come to acknowledge that diplomatic niceties have failed. Polite condemnations and routine assurances have not stemmed the tide; if anything, the situation is deteriorating. Stronger, coordinated action is now imperative. The African Union must move beyond statements and consider concrete measures that hold South Africa accountable to continental norms and obligations. Regional bodies and global institutions must also lend their weight to efforts aimed at protecting vulnerable populations and restoring the rule of law. As a leading voice on the continent, Nigeria has both a moral duty and a strategic interest in taking decisive action. It must spearhead a firm, coordinated response that leaves the government of Cyril Ramaphosa in no doubt about the consequences of continued inaction.
South Africa must be made to understand that the victimisation of Nigerians and other Africans is unacceptable and unsustainable. The killings, the expulsions, and the destruction must stop. And they must stop now!
