XENOPHOBIC UNREST: Ramaphosa to act on ‘illegal immigration’ as anti-foreigner protests spread across SA

Protests targeting foreigners are increasing. President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country needs to deal with illegal migration.

As anti-foreigner protests have spread across the country in recent days, with flare-ups in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape, President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged a tougher government response to migration issues while cautioning against xenophobia and vigilantism.

On Tuesday, 2 June, protesters in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, targeted foreigners’ homes in Cloverdene and Chief Albert Luthuli, reported News24. In Ladysmith, KZN, hundreds of protesters marched through the streets and visited stores, calling on the government to act against illegal migration.

Speaking during the Presidency Budget Vote in Parliament on Tuesday, Ramaphosa outlined government’s plans to strengthen immigration enforcement.

“As we work to build a safer, more stable and more prosperous society, we need to address the challenge of migration. When it is well managed and regulated, migration can help drive growth and opportunity for South Africans.

“However, we need to deal with illegal migration. We have seen how illegal immigration can put pressure on our public services and undermine our efforts to create decent work,” Ramaphosa said.

Several groups have raised concerns that the anti-foreigner movements and protests, which tap into grievances over unemployment, crime and overcrowded public services, could have deadly consequences, as seen in multiple xenophobic flare-ups since the 2008 attacks, in which 62 people were killed.

Nhlamulo Sambo, 18, was killed in Mossel Bay last week. On the same day, there was a violent anti-foreigner protest in the area. Sambo was a South African citizen from Giyani, Limpopo.

*While his family maintains that he was targeted after being mistaken for a foreign national, preliminary police investigations have, however, found no evidence linking his death to the protests. Police say Sambo was allegedly killed during a separate criminal incident involving an attempted theft at a shack.

In Mangaung, Free State, on 26 May, protesters looted shops in an anti-foreigner march, leading to 140 arrests. On 29 May, anti-foreigner protesters looted stores in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal.

On Tuesday in Parliament, Ramaphosa said, “We are cracking down on violations of immigration laws. We are increasing our inspections of workplaces and prosecuting employers who violate our labour laws. We are strengthening border security, stamping out corruption in the immigration system and closing the loopholes in fragmented immigration laws.”

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