A child looks on next to her mother holding a placard, during a march by a South African anti-xenophobia group following a recent campaign by another group which called on the government to prioritise jobs for nationals and remove undocumented immigrants from the country, in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa, March 26, 2022. REUTERS/ Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
South Africa’s government has moved to contain a diplomatic row with Ghana, pledging to prosecute anyone found inciting or taking part in xenophobic violence against foreign nationals after disturbing videos spread widely on social media.
“Acts of lawlessness, intimidation and violence against migrant communities have no place in our constitutional democracy,” Foreign Affairs Minister Ronald Lamola declared at a government officials’ meeting, warning that such violence posed a direct threat to South Africa’s constitutional order.
The pledge came a day after Accra lodged a formal protest. Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, summoned South Africa’s envoy on Thursday and demanded an “intervention … to prevent further escalation,” his ministry announced on X. Ablakwa had specifically flagged an incident in KwaZulu-Natal province, where a Ghanaian national was stopped, pressed to show proof of legal status and told to leave and “fix his country.”
South Africa’s police ministry reinforced Lamola’s warning, saying in a statement that all individuals found participating in or inciting xenophobic acts “would be identified, apprehended and brought before the courts.” Authorities also called on community leaders and civil society groups to help prevent further attacks and foster dialogue.
The tensions have reignited a long-running debate about the treatment of migrants in South Africa. Rights campaigners say foreigners are routinely scapegoated for the country’s deep economic difficulties, including persistently high unemployment that hovers around 32 percent. South Africa has experienced periodic waves of xenophobic violence over the past two decades, with migrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and other African nations frequently targeted.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah