Part 1: Xenophobia in South Africa
On the 27th of May 2026, the government of Ghana welcomed 300 of its citizens from South Africa at the Accra International Airport. The scenes that greeted the travelers were colorful and ecstatic. A number of the travelers instantly grew emotional after touching down on the tarmac as the others beamed with smiles and showered the government representatives who greeted them at the airport with praises.
The government’s decision to fly home 300 of its citizens is in response to disturbing footage of African immigrants including Ghanaians who had been harassed by a group of South African nationals. The attacks on african immigrants and their businesses are not done by faceless thugs who just happen to prey on unsuspecting foreigners.
Rather, they are inspired by a movement called ‘March and March’ led by a South African national called Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. The leadership of the movement have denied any wrongdoing but what remains objectively true is the fact that their rhetoric smacks of bigotry and their posture embraces xenophobia specifically against black African immigrants.
The activities of the March on March movement are consistent with the surge of far right anti immigration movements in Europe and the United States. This is the kind of rhetoric that brought into prominence leaders like Donald Trump of the United States, Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom and Marine LePenn of France.
These sentiments have grown so powerful that even left leaning governments like the U.K government led by Keir Starmer have adopted hardline immigration policies so that they can be in tune with the demands of the people.
It is important to note though that similar to the situation in South Africa, the subjects of these movements are overwhelmingly people of a darker skin tone. One of the powerful rhetoric that accompanies these ‘anti illegal immigration’ movements is a fondness for how white the population used to be as compared to today.
There are also concerns of how the influx of immigrants from third world countries is in Donald Trump’s words ‘poisoning the blood of our country’. These narratives are at the core of all the far right anti immigration movements in the west and are evidenced by inscriptions like ‘We want our country back’ and ‘Go back to Africa’ displayed on placards during such protests.
In South Africa, reasons for which Jacinta and co are the pestering African nationals are that they believe that these immigrants break the law and do as they please, as opposed to the citizens who do not commit crimes as much.
Conversely, data from the South African Department of Correctional services state that majority of crimes committed in South Africa are done by citizens and even the crimes committed by immigrants only have to do with immigration offenses. Additionally, they have the mistaken belief that majority of African immigrants in South Africa are illegal and this was reinforced by the false publication that out of the 300 Ghanaians who sought to return home, only 10 percent had proper documentation while living in South Africa- completely contrary to the position held by the South African Border management authority.
The aforementioned justifications for the far right anti immigrant posture held by the South Africa and the West are untenable and characterized by falsehoods for one reason and one reason only: these far right movements serve as a mask for the racism, prejudice and bigotry held firmly in the hearts of those who are most passionate about it.
A very concerning aspect of the reemergence of these xenophobic attacks is its potential to degenerate into violence. In 2008, 60 people died as a result of xenophobia inspired attacks. Also in 2019, armed mobs of the same ilk attacked foreign owned businesses in Johannesburg, which led to the death of 12 people.
The potential of these events repeating themselves caused a number of African diplomatic representatives in South Africa, including Ghana to boycott the ‘Africa Day’ celebration on the 25th of May 2026. While the boycott of this event may only seem like one of the diplomatic tools used by the other African countries to show displeasure to the South African government, the bigger picture, which is the potential of a salutary African unity and integration being realized has suffered a huge setback.
On social media applications, there is clear evidence of a rift between South African and Ghanaian nationals who hurl insults at each other on a daily basis. Even Julius Malema of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, a pan African movement, subtly criticized the government of Ghana for beginning the initiative to bring its citizens home. At this point, any conversation about African unity would be quickly shot down with fingers pointed at South Africa and the unpleasant activities going on there.
The developments in South Africa are most unfortunate especially considering the fact that the emergence of China and the reckless actions of the United States government have caused significant cracks in the geopolitical hegemony enjoyed by the United States of America. Today, the seemingly unfettered fraternization of America’s allies like Canada and the United Kingdom with China shows clearly that there is a new world order that is taking shape. Countries and blocs all over the world are repositioning themselves to ensure that they have a favorable place in the geopolitical landscape after the tussle between the U.S and China is finally said and done.
These occurrences serve as a great opportunity for Africa to live up to the ideals of pan africanism. To look out for each other. To morph the African union into a continental body that is very similar to the European Union. An African union that takes the shape of the European Union would redefine Africa’s influence on the geopolitical stage.
It would ensure that initiatives like the Africa Free Trade Agreement would be much more efficient especially with the institution of a single market. Security concerns that are treated as nation specific issues would be dealt with effectively with the integration of military forces across the continent. Altogether, the continent would likely to take a huge leap towards development and the citizens would be better for it.
While the xenophobia in South Africa is not the only issue that Africa need to get right, its existence is causing a strain in any lingering efforts to achieve salutary African unity and integration. The activities of the ‘March and March’ movement have caused diplomatic tensions in countries across Africa to the extent that the High Commissioners to Ghana and Nigeria have been summoned with regards to this same issue.
While the government is on record to have publicly condemned the actions of the March and March movement, critics have deemed these public statements to be hollow, owing to the fact that the government has not taken any concrete steps to protect African immigrants from the harassment they’ve been facing. As the standoff between the government and the movement persists, the prospects of African integration further dissipates.
The dire state of the prospects of African unity and integration is evidenced by the fact that the ‘March and March’ movement has given the South African government up till 30th June 2026 to exclusively drive away ‘illegal African immigrants’ or else, in the words of the leader, Jacinta Ngobese- Zuma, ‘we’ll see’.
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Written by: Adam Zig-Naa Abdulai Esq.
