In a world of Afrophobia, be Malema

As the continent celebrated 63 years of the African Union, with spectacular speeches from various leaders, the clarion call of the day centred on Africa’s unity, solidarity and integration in the age of globalisation. At the backdrop of the calls is a continent divided along national lines, geopolitical intrigues, foreign ideologies, race and ethnicities. For instance, in Nigeria there are divisions between Muslims and Christians, while in South Sudan there is civil unrest between the Nuer and Dinka tribes. However, the most disappointing and shocking divisions are in South Africa, where citizens are up in arms against fellow Africans in a black-on-black persecution, often referred to as Afrophobia. Since the beginning of the year, anti-immigration activists Nhlanhla Lux, Zandile Dabula, Phakel’umthakathi and Jacinta Ngobese, under Operation Dudula, led demonstrations, patrolling business centres and residences in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Johannesburg and Soweto, seeking to expel foreigners by 30 June 2026. The campaign targets fellow black Africans from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, citing a lack of proper documentation, crime and jobs and opportunities being occupied by foreigners. There is a possibility that some foreign nationals are guilty as charged but the practice of exercising mob justice and exempting other races is wrong, especially at a time when Africans are being called upon to unite beyond the 1884 Berlin-drawn border lines. It is disingenuous of the ringleaders and demonstrators to persecute fellow black Africans while exempting whites, Indians, Arabs and Chinese, who are part of the 5% of the three million to five million foreigners. Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader and MP Julius Malema has condemned the events as Afrophobia. In his latest interview with Sky News, Malema boldly stated: “There is no xenophobia but rather Afrophobia.” He referred to the Operation Dudula ringleaders and demonstrators as clowns, charlatans and disruptors, extorting black foreigners because they are an easy target compared with other races of foreigners. Malema has vowed never to be part of a parochial group hunting and taunting other Africans simply because they crossed into South Africa in search of greener pastures and an African dream. As Martin Luther King Jr stated: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Malema has taken a stand at a difficult time for any politician in South Africa to confront anti-immigrant demonstrators and risk losing votes in upcoming elections. With his long-desired presidential ambitions at stake, he chooses to preach equality, equity, justice, black solidarity, repatriation and the economic liberation of African economies in the interest of an independent and united Africa. Malema reminds shallow minds about Ubuntu as a key pillar of pan-Africanism, where black people stand united and respectful of one another. He reminds South Africans about the existential challenges they face, from unresolved land disputes and an affordable housing deficit to the high cost of living and unemployment resulting from global economic inequalities and the lingering effects of apartheid. Therefore, Phakel’umthakathi, Ngobese and their Operation Dudula group are redirecting their energies towards the wrong people. Like Malema, I challenge them to take their protests to Sandton, Sunninghill, Melrose and the Western Cape, where millions of white settlers who control much of South Africa’s economy reside. Lest we forget, the country is living with racial, social and economic disparities because although political power changed in 1994, economic power did not change hands nor was land and capital redistributed equally. How can Dabula, Ngobese and Phakel’umthakathi neglect the fact that 70% of the land remains in the hands of a chosen few whites, while most of the country’s wealthiest corporations belong to the same section of society rather than fellow black foreigners? Even after the departure of 300 Ghanaians and some Zimbabweans, the unemployment rate remains at 60%. Has South Africa abandoned the common struggle for a United States of Africa free from divisions, hatred, visa restrictions, trade embargoes, foreign influence and dependency? The persecution of fellow Africans erodes the efforts of Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Thomas Sankara and Nelson Mandela, who sacrificed their lives to liberate and unite Africa. Africa’s great leaders did not struggle for an Africa that persecutes fellow Africans, is divided along ethnic lines or is disconnected by foreign ideologies. Have the African borders, drawn with a ruler and pen in Berlin, forced us to forget that we are one landmass despite the partitioning? Dear Oper