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South Africa has rejected accusations of xenophobia following recent anti-migrant protests, urging African countries to address the root causes forcing people to leave their home countries.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said the protests should not be broadly characterised as xenophobia, but rather as isolated demonstrations permitted within the country’s constitutional framework.
“South Africans are not xenophobic. What you have is pockets of protest, which is permissible within our constitutional framework,” Vincent Magwenya said.
The response comes as concern from countries such as Nigeria and Ghana heightens over reported attacks and hostility toward foreign nationals in South Africa.
Protests were held on Wednesday in Durban and other areas, with anti-foreigner movements calling on authorities to act against undocumented migrants, particularly those running small businesses.
Similar protests in recent months have also targeted access by undocumented foreigners to public healthcare services.
Magwenya said recent discussions between Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa showed the need for African countries to work collectively to address migration pressures.
He explained that factors such as conflict, instability, and poor governance were driving large numbers of people to seek refuge in other countries, including South Africa.
He added that governments across the continent must engage constructively to address these underlying issues.
Magwenya also dismissed claims that the situation reflects widespread xenophobia, arguing that such characterisations oversimplify the issue and risk unfairly portraying the country.
His remarks follow Nigeria’s decision to arrange emergency repatriation flights for its citizens and Ghana’s move to summon South Africa’s envoy over recent incidents.
