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Pretoria is pushing back against what it describes as a coordinated effort to portray South Africa as a “pariah state” over its response to anti-migrant unrest, as the diplomatic fallout from months of xenophobic protests continues to weigh on relations with several African countries.
The government’s response follows more than three months of protests led by South Africans demanding the removal of undocumented migrants. The unrest has drawn widespread criticism across the continent, with countries including Nigeria and Ghana accusing Pretoria of failing to protect foreign nationals, some of whom were reportedly injured or killed during the violence.
Speaking at a briefing at the Union Buildings this week, Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya dismissed claims that South Africa was becoming diplomatically isolated.
“Over the last two months, we have observed a sustained campaign that seeks to isolate South Africa from the rest of the African continent, under the guise of protesting against the recent wave of anti-illegal migration protests that we have recently experienced here in South Africa. This campaign has sought to create an impression that South Africa is now a pariah state, which must be referred to international courts,” he said.
Magwenya also accused an unnamed foreign diplomat of helping spread misinformation.
“More concerning has been the peddling of false information by a diplomatic representative of a country that has become central to this campaign. Even ordinary diplomatic exchanges over meetings have been deliberately misrepresented to create an impression that South Africa is being isolated,” he added.
The tensions came into sharp focus after Ghana postponed a planned state visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying his visit at such a sensitive time could inflame tensions. A Mail & Guardian report said the dispute deepened after Ghana assisted some of its citizens who wanted to return home and amid reports that Ramaphosa’s request for a state visit to Accra had been turned down. Those developments have heightened concerns within the South African government that the unrest could undermine the country’s reputation and economic interests across Africa.
Magwenya rejected suggestions that Pretoria’s diplomatic standing had suffered. He said South Africa remained “firmly engaged with our African continent and the rest of the world.”
To support that claim, he pointed to Ramaphosa’s recent meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, his role as co-chair of the Leaders Group meeting of the High-Level Steering Committee on Education alongside UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, and his participation in the Transforming Education Summit +4. According to Magwenya, the engagements reflected “a South Africa and a President that is fully engaged with contributing towards a better Africa and a better world.”
He also highlighted Ramaphosa’s ongoing contacts with African leaders through bilateral meetings, telephone discussions, Bi-National Commissions and Southern African Development Community summits involving Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. He said the president’s engagements with leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and France showed South Africa remained “an active and respected partner in regional and international affairs.”
Magwenya also cited Ramaphosa’s recent visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where South Africa is working with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and providing financial support to help contain the Ebola outbreak.
Even with those diplomatic efforts, officials acknowledge that immigration has become a major source of friction in South Africa’s relations with its African neighbours. Repairing those ties is likely to require sustained diplomatic engagement as anti-migrant sentiment at home continues to simmer.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah