AFRICA MUST NOT TURN AGAINST ITSELF: THE SHAME OF XENOPHOBIA IN SOUTH AFRICA
The recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa against Ghanaians and other African nationals are disgraceful, dangerous, and completely unacceptable. No African country that once depended on continental solidarity to defeat apartheid should now tolerate violence, intimidation, looting, and humiliation directed at fellow Africans. The growing attacks in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Cape Town against migrants from Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and other African states represent a betrayal of the very spirit of African unity.
History is clear. During the dark years of apartheid, Ghana and many African nations stood firmly with South Africa politically, diplomatically, and morally. African states paid enormous economic and political costs to isolate the apartheid regime. The Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union, championed the liberation struggle because Africa understood that injustice against one African nation was injustice against all.
It is therefore deeply painful that in 2026, Ghana is reportedly preparing to evacuate about 300 of its citizens from South Africa because of xenophobic violence. Such developments damage Africa’s credibility, threaten regional integration, weaken economic cooperation, and undermine the African Continental Free Trade Area agenda.
The 2008 xenophobic violence in South Africa claimed at least 62 lives, while the 2015 attacks again left several people dead and displaced thousands. The continent cannot continue to witness cyclical violence without decisive accountability. Condemnation alone is no longer enough.
The comments by the 3rd Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, were therefore courageous and very necessary. His demand that perpetrators be identified, arrested, prosecuted, and convicted reflects the growing frustration of Africans who believe justice must finally replace empty rhetoric. His warning that “South Africa was liberated by African solidarity” should echo across the continent.
South African authorities must act firmly against criminal elements fueling hatred. Political leaders, civil society groups, and security agencies must reject inflammatory rhetoric and defend constitutional democracy. Africa cannot preach Pan-Africanism abroad while Africans are hunted at home.
African unity is not just a saying. It is a responsibility. Xenophobia is not patriotism. It is a direct assault on the African dream.
By: Blessing Mantey
