Xenophobic Violence Against African Nationals in South Africa: A Stain on Africa’s Moral Conscience and an Attack on Pan-Africanism

By Dr Maurice Ezuruike, Public Policy/Legislative Consultant

I approach this intervention with a profound sense of urgency, outrage, and concern over the recurring xenophobic attacks against African nationals living and working in South Africa. I call upon Members of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and parliamentarians across Africa to exercise their authority as the voice of the peoples of Africa and demand immediate action from the African Union to protect the lives, property, dignity, and fundamental rights of Africans residing in South Africa.

The continued targeting of African migrants and foreign nationals through violence, intimidation, looting, the destruction of businesses, hate speech, and social exclusion is a stain on the conscience of our continent. These acts are shameful, reprehensible, and wholly incompatible with the values upon which the African Union was founded. They represent a direct assault on the ideals of African unity, Pan-African solidarity, human dignity, and the shared destiny of African peoples.

Every time an African is attacked, humiliated, displaced, injured, or killed because of their nationality, Africa itself is wounded. Every shop looted because its owner is Nigerian, Zimbabwean, Ethiopian, Somali, Congolese, Malawian, Mozambican, or from another African nation is an attack on the principle that Africa belongs equally to all Africans. Every life lost to xenophobic violence is a tragic reminder that the promise of African unity remains unfulfilled.

Members of the Pan-African Parliament cannot remain silent while Africans are hunted, threatened, and deprived of their livelihoods on African soil. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity. Indifference in the face of suffering is abandonment. The Pan-African Parliament was established to ensure that the voices, aspirations, and rights of African peoples are protected and advanced. If the institution is to remain faithful to its mandate, it must speak with clarity, courage, and moral conviction against this persistent scourge of xenophobia.

The objectives of the Pan-African Parliament include promoting peace, security, stability, democracy, human rights, and the integration of the African continent. These objectives are rendered meaningless if Africans cannot live safely in fellow African states. There can be no genuine African integration while Africans are treated as enemies in Africa. There can be no meaningful continental unity while nationality becomes a basis for persecution and violence. There can be no Pan-Africanism where xenophobia is tolerated.

The repeated xenophobic attacks in South Africa constitute more than isolated criminal incidents. They reflect a dangerous and deeply troubling pattern of hostility directed against fellow Africans. Such attacks undermine decades of continental efforts aimed at fostering cooperation among African nations. They weaken trust between peoples and states, erode the foundations of regional integration, and threaten the realization of a united, prosperous, and peaceful Africa.

Beyond the immediate human suffering they cause, these attacks undermine the aspirations of the African Union's Agenda 2063, which envisions "An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena." The vision of a borderless and integrated Africa cannot be achieved while Africans face discrimination, exclusion, and violence in fellow African states.

The African Union was established to promote unity, solidarity, peace, security, and the protection of human rights across the continent. It bears a solemn obligation to defend Africans wherever their rights are threatened. The Union cannot champion free movement, economic integration, and continental citizenship while remaining passive when Africans are subjected to violence because of their nationality. Such passivity would amount to a betrayal of the Union’s founding principles.

The right to life is sacred. The right to human dignity is non-negotiable. The right to security of person is fundamental. The right to equality before the law is universal. These rights belong to every African irrespective of nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or immigration status. They are not privileges to be granted selectively; they are rights that must be protected unconditionally.

The destruction of businesses owned by African migrants is not merely an economic crime. It is an assault on livelihoods, families, and human dignity. Many of those targeted have spent years building enterprises, creating jobs, paying taxes, and contributing positively to their host communities. To destroy their property because they are fellow Africans from other countries is an act of intolerance that has no place in a democratic and constitutional society.

It is particularly painful that these attacks occur in a country whose liberation struggle was supported by the entire African continent. Across Africa, nations sacrificed resources, offered sanctuary, mobilised diplomatic support, and stood in solidarity with the people of South Africa during the struggle against apartheid. The freedom enjoyed in South Africa today was not achieved in isolation; it was strengthened by the collective sacrifices of Africans across the continent. It is therefore deeply troubling that fellow Africans who once stood with South Africa are now subjected to hostility, violence, and exclusion within its borders.

The sacrifices made by African nations during South Africa’s liberation struggle created a moral bond that should strengthen, not weaken, continental solidarity. The spirit of Pan-Africanism that united Africa against colonialism and apartheid must now be mobilised to confront xenophobia and all forms of discrimination against fellow Africans.

I therefore call upon Members of the Pan-African Parliament and national parliamentarians across the continent to sponsor and adopt forceful and unequivocal resolutions in their respective legislatures condemning all acts of xenophobia in South Africa and throughout Africa. Parliamentarians must declare that xenophobia is a violation of African values, a violation of human rights, and a threat to continental peace and integration.

Furthermore, parliamentarians, through their respective legislative institutions, should demand that the African Union Commission urgently engage the Government of South Africa to ensure the protection of all African nationals and their property. Such engagement should include concrete measures to prevent future attacks, strengthen accountability mechanisms, and guarantee effective remedies for victims.

Parliamentarians should also urge the African Union to establish a continental monitoring mechanism to track incidents of xenophobic violence and provide early warning when tensions are escalating. The protection of African citizens across the continent should become a priority matter of continental governance and security.

The Pan-African Parliament, as the parliamentary organ of the African Union, should place the issue of xenophobic violence on its agenda at the earliest opportunity and facilitate a continental dialogue on practical measures to strengthen social cohesion, free movement, and mutual respect among African peoples.

Those who perpetrate xenophobic violence must face the full force of the law. There must be no impunity for individuals who incite hatred, organise attacks, destroy property, or take innocent lives. Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to be done. Victims and their families deserve accountability, compensation, and meaningful support.

African parliamentarians must also call for comprehensive educational and social programmes aimed at promoting tolerance, coexistence, and Pan-African consciousness. Xenophobia thrives where ignorance prevails. It grows where misinformation is allowed to flourish. It survives where leaders fail to challenge narratives that portray fellow Africans as threats rather than partners in development.

This is a defining moment for Africa’s elected representatives. History will judge whether they stood firmly with the victims or remained silent in the face of injustice. Parliamentarians must send a clear message that the life of every African matters, that the dignity of every African is inviolable, and that the safety of every African is a continental concern.

While the Pan-African Parliament is not in session, Members of PAP and parliamentarians in Member States should:

·       Unequivocally condemn all xenophobic attacks against African nationals in South Africa.

·       Call upon the African Union to take immediate and practical measures to protect the lives, dignity, and property of affected individuals.

·       Demand accountability and prosecution of perpetrators and instigators of xenophobic violence.

·       Establish mechanisms for monitoring, reporting, and preventing future attacks.

·       Advocate compensation and rehabilitation for victims whose lives and businesses have been devastated.

·       Reaffirm the principle that every African is entitled to equal protection, respect, and dignity anywhere on the African continent.

·       Promote public education initiatives that reinforce the values of Pan-Africanism, African solidarity, and peaceful coexistence.

The time for expressions of concern, as reflected in statements by leaders across the continent, has passed. The time for decisive action has arrived.

Xenophobia is a betrayal of Pan-Africanism. It is an affront to human dignity. It is an attack on the very idea of Africa. It is incompatible with the vision of Agenda 2063 and the objectives of continental integration. It must be condemned without qualification, confronted without hesitation, and defeated without compromise.

Members of the Pan-African Parliament must act. National parliaments must act. The African Union must act. Africa must act.

No African should live in fear in Africa. No African should be killed for being African. No African should be stripped of their dignity because they come from another African nation. The lives, rights, property, and humanity of all Africans must be protected, defended, and respected at all times and in all places across our continent.

Only then can we truly honour the ideals of Pan-Africanism and fulfil the promise of an integrated, peaceful, and prosperous Africa envisioned by the founders of our Union.