Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere faced
discrimination and even violence in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
. After
majority rule
Majority rule is a principle that means the decision-making power belongs to the group that has the most members. In politics, majority rule requires the deciding vote to have majority, that is, more than half the votes. It is the binary dec ...
in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
increased. Between 2000 and March 2008, at least 67 people died in what were identified as xenophobic attacks. In May 2008, a series of attacks left 62 people dead; although 21 of those killed were South African citizens. The attacks were motivated by xenophobia. In 2015, another nationwide spike in xenophobic attacks against immigrants in general prompted a number of foreign governments to begin repatriating their citizens.
A
Pew Research
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
poll conducted in 2018 showed that 62% of South Africans viewed immigrants as a burden on society by taking jobs and
social benefits and that 61% of South Africans thought that immigrants were more responsible for
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
than other groups.
Between 2010 and 2017 the immigrant community in South Africa increased from 2 million people to 4 million people.
The proportion of South Africa's total population that is foreign born increased from 2.8% in 2005 to 7% in 2019, according to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
The IOM w ...
,
in spite of widespread xenophobia in the country. This made South Africa the largest recipient of immigrants on the African continent in 2019.
Xenophobia in South Africa before 1994
Attacks against Mozambican and Congolese immigrants
Between 1984 and the end of hostilities in that country, an estimated 50,000 to 350,000
Mozambicans fled to South Africa. While never granted
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. status they were technically allowed to settle in the
bantustan
A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now N ...
s or black homelands created during the apartheid system. The reality was more varied, with the homeland of
Lebowa banning Mozambican settlers outright while
Gazankulu welcomed the refugees with support in the form of land and equipment. Those in Gazankulu, however, found themselves confined to the homeland and liable for
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
should they officially enter South Africa, and evidence exists that their hosts denied them access to economic resources.
Unrest and civil war likewise saw large numbers of
Congolese
Congolese or Kongolese may refer to:
African peoples
* Congolese people (disambiguation)
* Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...
people emigrate to South Africa, many illegally, in 1993 and 1997. Subsequent studies found indications of xenophobic attitudes towards these refugees, typified by them being denied access to the primary healthcare to which they were technically entitled.
Xenophobia in South Africa after 1994
Despite a lack of directly comparable data, xenophobia in South Africa is perceived to have significantly increased after the election of a Black majority government in 1994.
[''From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners': Explaining ]Xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
in Post-Apartheid South Africa'', Michael Neocosmos, CODESRIA, Dakar, 2010 According to a 2004 study published by the
Southern African Migration Project (SAMP):
The ANC government – in its attempts to overcome the divides of the past and build new forms of social cohesion ... embarked on an aggressive and inclusive nation-building project. One unanticipated by-product of this project has been a growth in intolerance towards outsiders ... Violence against foreign citizens and African refugees has become increasingly common and communities are divided by hostility and suspicion.
The study was based on a citizen survey across member states of the
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooper ...
(SADC) and found South Africans expressing the harshest anti-immigrant sentiment, with 21% of South Africans in favour of a complete ban on foreign entry and 64% in favour of strict limitations on the numbers permitted. By contrast, the next-highest proportion of respondents in favour of a complete ban on immigration were in neighbouring Namibia, and Botswana, at 10%.
Foreigners and the South African Police Service
A 2004 study by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) of attitudes amongst police officers in the Johannesburg area found that 87% of respondents believed that most undocumented immigrants in Johannesburg are involved in crime, despite there being no statistical evidence to substantiate the perception. Such views combined with the vulnerability of
illegal aliens led to abuse, including violence and extortion, some analysts argued.
In a March 2007 meeting with Home Affairs Minister
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, a representative of
Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...
an refugees in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
claimed that immigrants could not rely on police for protection, but instead found police mistreating them, stealing from them and making unconfirmed allegations that they sell drugs.
Two years earlier, at a similar meeting in Johannesburg, Mapisa-Nqakula had admitted that refugees and asylum seekers were mistreated by police with xenophobic attitudes.
Violence before May 2008
According to a 1998
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
report, immigrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique living in the
Alexandra township were "physically assaulted over a period of several weeks in January 1995, as armed gangs identified suspected undocumented migrants and marched them to the police station in an attempt to 'clean' the township of foreigners."
The campaign, known as "Buyelekhaya" (go back home), blamed foreigners for crime, unemployment and sexual attacks.
In September 1998, a Mozambican national and two Senegalese citizens were thrown out of a train. The assault was carried out by a group returning from a rally that blamed foreigners for unemployment, crime and the spread of AIDS.
In 2000, seven foreigners were killed on the
Cape Flats
The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which li ...
over a five-week period in what police described as xenophobic murders possibly motivated by the fear that outsiders would claim property belonging to locals.
In October 2001, residents of the
Zandspruit
Zandspruit is a township in the Region C of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in the Gauteng province of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost countr ...
informal settlement gave Zimbabwean citizens ten days to leave the area. When the foreigners failed to leave voluntarily, they were forcefully evicted and their shacks were burned down and looted. Community members said they were angry that Zimbabweans were employed whilst locals remained jobless and blamed the foreigners for a number of crimes. No injuries were reported amongst the affected Zimbabweans.
In the last week of 2005 and first week of 2006, at least four people, including two Zimbabweans, died in the
Olievenhoutbosch
OlievenHoutBosch (also known as 'Oliven"/ 'Stop12") is a township in Centurion, south of Pretoria in Gauteng, South Africa, close to Midrand on the R55 route. It was established in the 1990s It was an informal settlement called Choba at extension ...
settlement after foreigners were blamed for the death of a local man. Shacks belonging to foreigners were set alight and locals demanded that police remove all immigrants from the area.
In August 2006, Somali refugees appealed for protection after 21 Somali traders were killed in July of that year and 26 more in August. The immigrants believed the murders to be motivated by xenophobia, although police rejected the assertion of a concerted campaign to drive Somali traders out of townships in the Western Cape.
Attacks on foreign nationals increased markedly in late-2007
and it is believed that there were at least a dozen attacks between January and May 2008.
The most severe incidents occurred on 8 January 2008 when two
Somali
Somali may refer to:
Horn of Africa
* Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region
** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis
** Somali culture
** Somali cuisine
** Somali language, a Cushitic language
** Soma ...
shop owners were murdered in the
Eastern Cape towns of
Jeffreys Bay and
East London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
, then in March 2008 when seven people were killed including Zimbabweans,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
is and a Somali national after their shops and shacks were set alight in
Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The settlement was established in 1939, ...
near
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
.
May 2008 riots
On 12 May 2008 a series of riots started in the township of
Alexandra (in the north-eastern part of
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
) when locals attacked migrants from
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...
,
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...
and
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, killing two people and injuring 40 others.
Some attackers were reported to have been singing
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-apart ...
's campaign song ''Umshini Wami'' ( zu, "Bring Me My Machine Gun"). In the following weeks the violence spread, first to other settlements in the
Gauteng Province, then to the coastal cities of Durban
and
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
.
Attacks were also reported in parts of the
Southern Cape,
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
,
the
North West and
Free State.
By the end of the riots 62 people were reported dead. 1400 suspects were arrested in connection with the violence. Nine months after the attacks 128 individuals had been convicted and 30 found not guilty in 105 concluded court cases. 208 cases had been withdrawn and 156 were still being heard. One year after the attacks prosecutors said that 137 people had been convicted, 182 cases had been withdrawn because witnesses or complainants had left the country, 51 cases were underway or ready for trial and 82 had been referred for further investigation.
In May 2009, one year after the attacks the
Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (Cormsa) said that foreigners remained under threat of violence and that little had been done to address the causes of the attacks. The organisation complained of a lack of accountability for those responsible for public violence, insufficient investigations into the instigators and the lack of a public government inquiry.
2009–12
In late May 2009, reports emerged regarding a possible resurgence of xenophobic related activity and the organising of attacks in the Western Cape. Reports of threats and secret meetings by local businessmen surfaced in
Gugulethu
Gugulethu is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa and is 15 km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride''. The township was established along with Nyanga in the 1960s.
History
Th ...
,
Khayelitsha and
Philippi, Cape Town. Samora Machel in Philippi once again emerging as a flash-point. In Gugulethu, reports emerged of secret meetings by local businessmen discussing 'what to do about Somali shopkeepers'. The
Anti-Eviction Campaign
The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign was a non-racial popular movement made up of poor and oppressed communities in Cape Town, South Africa. brought these issues to the open by organising a series of anti-xenophobia meetings attempting to find the root cause of the crisis.
In November 2009, a community of 1500-2500 Zimbabwean farm workers was forcibly evicted from their homes in the informal settlements of De Doorns, a grape-farming town in the Western Cape. No persons were physically assaulted but homes were trashed and looted and this led to the biggest displacement of foreign nationals since May 2008. The Zimbabweans were then housed in a displaced persons' camp where some remained for a year until it was closed. Researchers identified the role of a ward councillor, Mpumelelo Lubisi, in inciting the attack in possible collusion with informal labour brokers who had financial interests in getting rid of their Zimbabwean competitors. South African workers also accused farmers of employing the Zimbabweans at less than minimum wage (farmers and Zimbabwean workers denied this).
In 2010 the press carried numerous articles claiming that there would be massive planned xenophobic violence at the end of the 2010 Football World Cup. However this did not happen.
In July 2012 there were new attacks in parts of Cape Town and in Botshabelo in the Free State.
"Fortress South Africa"
South Africa's borders were re-militarised. According to Christopher McMichael:
2013–19
Attacks against Somali entrepreneurs
On 30 May 2013, 25-year-old Abdi Nasir Mahmoud Good, was stoned to death. The violence was captured on a mobile phone and shared on the Internet.
Three
Somali
Somali may refer to:
Horn of Africa
* Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region
** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis
** Somali culture
** Somali cuisine
** Somali language, a Cushitic language
** Soma ...
shopkeepers had been killed in June 2013 and the Somali government requested the South African authorities to do more to protect their nationals. Among those murdered were two brothers who were allegedly hacked to death. The attacks led to public outcry and worldwide protests by the
Somali diaspora
The Somali diaspora or Qurbajoogta refers to Somalis who were born in Greater Somalia and reside in areas of the world that they were not born in. The civil war in Somalia greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many Somalis moved fr ...
, in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...
.
South African Foreign Minister
Maite Nkoana-Mashabane expressed the government's "strongest condemnation" of the violence which had seen looting and the death of a Somali shopkeeper.
Somali Prime Minister
Abdi Farah Shirdon
Abdi Farah Shirdon ( so, Cabdi Faarax Shirdoon; ar, عبدي فارح شردون; born 1958) is a Somali businessman, economist and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Somalia between October 2012 and December 2013. Shirdon is credited ...
expressed concern for the safety of Somalis in South Africa, calling on the government there to intervene to stop violence against Somali people after deadly attacks in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
and
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, S ...
.
On 7 June 2014, a Somali national, in his 50s, was reportedly stoned to death and two others were seriously injured when the angry mob of locals attacked their shop in extension 6, late on Saturday. Three more Somalis were wounded from gunshots and shops were looted.
After another round of xenophobic violence against Somali entrepreneurs in April 2015, Somalia's government announced that it would evacuate its citizens from South Africa.
April 2015 attacks
In April 2015, there was an upsurge in xenophobic attacks throughout the country. The attacks started in Durban and spread to Johannesburg.
Zulu King
Goodwill Zwelithini was accused of aggravating the attacks by saying that foreigners should "go back to their countries".
[
Locals looted foreigners' shops and attacked immigrants in general, forcing hundreds to relocate to police stations across the country. The ]Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...
an authorities subsequently began repatriating their nationals, and a number of other foreign governments also announced that they would evacuate their citizens. More than 300 people were arrested. On 18 April 2015, a photographer from the ''Sunday Times'', James Oatway
James Oatway (born 1978) is a South African photojournalist. He was the Chief Photographer of the Sunday Times (South Africa) until 2016. His work focuses mainly on political and social issues in Africa, migration and people affected by conflict. ...
, photographed a brutal attack on a Mozambican man. The man, Emmanuel Sithole, died from his wounds. Four suspects were arrested within days of the publication of photographs in the edition of 19 April of ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...
'' of the murder of Mozambican street vendor Emmanuel Sithole in Alexandra township the previous day. Sithole's name was not included in the official list of seven victims killed in the April 2015 attacks, including an Ethiopian, a Mozambican, a Bangladeshi, a Zimbabwean and three South Africans who were all killed in KwaZulu-Natal.
Despite the government's insistence that Sithole's murder was not xenophobic, the South African National Defence Force
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...
(SANDF) was deployed in Alexandra township following the publication of the images. On 23 April several thousand demonstrators marched through central Johannesburg to protest against a spate of deadly attacks on immigrants. They sang songs denouncing xenophobia and carried banners that read "We are all Africans" as migrant workers crowded balconies, shouting their support.
October 2015 attacks
In October 2015 there were sustained xenophobic attacks in Grahamstown
Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana Loc ...
in the Eastern Cape. It as reported that more than 500 people were displaced and more than 300 shops and homes looted and, in some cases, destroyed altogether. In these attacks Muslims were specifically targeted.[The languages of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa: Reviewing migrancy, foreignness, and solidarity](_blank)
''Agenda'', Camalita Naicker, 2016
The Grahamstown xenophobic attacks that took place on 21 October 2015, and coincided with the FeesMustFall
#FeesMustFall was a student-led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in South Africa. The goals of the movement were to stop increases in student fees as well as to increase government funding of universities. Protests started at the ...
protest at Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...
, lasted for several days.
The attacks were instigated by the taxi drivers' protests, where the drivers' were protesting over the terrible state of roads, the rise in crime and rumours of murders committed by foreigners. Their demands were that the mayor ought to do something about their grievances. Their grievances were not addressed by the mayor.
On 21 October 2015 taxi drivers attacked spaza shops
A spaza shop, also known as a tuck shop, is an informal convenience shop business in South Africa, usually run from home. They also serve the purpose of supplementing household incomes of the owners, selling small everyday household items. These s ...
owned by Pakistani, Somali, Bangladeshi and Ethiopian residents of Grahamstown. There was a mobilisation of people by the taxi drivers, with the aim of attacking and looting shops owned by foreigners. There was a rumour that insinuated that foreigners were responsible for the rampant murders in town: that an "Arab man had killed and mutilated women" around town and that the police had not done anything to address these rumours. Grahamstown residents in the townships were angry at the police for not doing anything to dispel the rumours, despite having been warned by the councillors that the residents might end up taking the law into their own hands. Thus, it was these rumours that incited the attacks on foreigners.
On 23 October, the Makana
Makana is a mountain located on northern shore of the island of Kauai, Kauai, where it rises above Limahuli Valley.
''Makana'' is a Hawaiian language term meaning gift or reward. It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name.
Limahul ...
Municipality held a town meeting at City Hall. The meeting was focused on how the municipality and the South African police would pacify the residents and address the situation. During that meeting, there was no representative from the police and one of the ward councillors further legitimized the attacks through xenophobic sentiments centred on not giving foreigners a platform to have their own shops. The attacks continued, with taxi drivers transporting looters for free, according to the residents of Grahamstown.[P O'Halloran. Contested space and citizenship in Grahamstown, South Africa. 2016.http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021909616664920]
Reports from the residents alleged that the police's attitudes were that of indifference, with some participating in the looting. The policing of the attacks was elitist as there was a line on Beaufort street which pointed out where looting would be tolerated and where it would not be. Thus, looting was allowed in the township and not tolerated in town. The police only pacified the situation and restored order after a week of attacks and looting. The xenophobic attacks in Grahamstown differed from the usual xenophobic attacks in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
as the ones in Grahamstown were mostly targeted at Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...
. The main reason why Muslims were targeted was mainly due to the rumour that an Arab man was responsible for the murder of women in the town.
2016 Tshwane riots
From 20–23 June 2016 a wave of riots hit the City of Tshwane. Although the riots were sparked by political discontent within the ANC, Somali, Pakistani and other foreign owned shops and micro enterprises were targeted for looting and a number of foreigners were attacked.
2017 Anti-immigration Protest
On Friday 24 February 2017 a large scale and officially sanctioned anti-immigrant protest was organised and held in the Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
. Protesters marched to the Foreign Ministry and handed a petition to government representatives. Protesters accused immigrants of taking jobs from South Africans, causing crime, and complained that " ey are arrogant and they don't know how to talk to people, especially Nigerians." 136 protesters were arrested during the march.
2019 Durban riots
On 25 March 2019 xenophobic riots targeting African immigrants broke out in Sydenham, Jadhu Place and Overport
Overport is a hilly residential area in Durban, South Africa. The name Overport is commonly used to refer to the suburbs of Overport, Sydenham, part of Sparks and parts of Essenwood; with the part of Sydenham west of Brickfield Road, and north ...
areas of Durban. Around one hundred people attacked businesses owned by foreign nationals resulting in around 50 people seeking shelter in a local police station and mosque. Three people were killed in the riot. A speech given by President Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...
at the ANC's election manifesto for the 2019 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would ...
was blamed for contributing to xenophobic feeling wherein Ramaphosa committed to cracking down on undocumented foreigners involved in criminal activities. The attacks on foreigners was criticised by both the South African government and political parties amidst calls to ensure that xenophobic sentiment was not exploited for electoral purposes.
2019 Johannesburg riots
On 1 September 2019, riots and looting targeting shops owned by foreign nationals broke out in Jeppestown and Johannesburg CBD
The Central Business District, commonly called Johannesburg CBD, is one of the main business centres of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the densest collection of skyscrapers in Africa, however, due to white flight and urban blight, many of the ...
following the death of a taxi driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
. By 3 September, police had made 189 arrests for looting. Around 50 businesses predominantly owned by Nigerians from the rest of the continent were reportedly destroyed or damaged during the incident. The riots coincided with a nationwide truck driver strike protesting against the employment of non-South African truckers. After riots resulted in 12 deaths in the first week of September, 640 of an estimated 100,000 Nigerians in South Africa signed up to take free flights offered by Nigeria to return to their home country. The riots led to a sit-in protest in Greenmarket Square, Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
by refugees demanding to be relocated to a third country outside of South Africa and other than their country of origin.
2020–present
Reports of xenophobic attacks targeting foreign truck drivers and other foreigners were recorded during the 2021 South African unrest
The 2021 South African unrest, also known as the Zuma unrest or Zuma riots, was a wave of civil unrest occurred in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces from 9 to 18 July 2021, sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob ...
.
Operation Dudula
Reports of harassment of immigrant traders in Soweto
Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a se ...
and Johannesburg by a group dubbed "Operation Dudula
Operation Dudula is a vigilante organisation in South Africa, widely recognized as being xenophobic. The group has been linked with violently threatening and targeting migrants. The group blames South Africa's porous borders, lenient immigration p ...
" (meaning: "''to push''" in isiZulu
Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal o ...
) began emerging in mid-January 2022. This was preceded by a social media campaign in June 2020 calling for action against immigrants under the Operation Dudula banner. The Tsietsi Mashinini Centre
Teboho "Tsietsi" MacDonald Mashinini (born 27 January 1957 – 1990) in Jabavu, Soweto, South Africa, died summer, 1990 in Conakry, Guinea), and buried Avalon Cemetery, was the main student leader of the Soweto Uprising that began in Soweto and ...
in Soweto, a known refuge for refugees and foreign nationals, was raided by supporters of Operation Dudula on 6 February 2022. On 12 and 13 February 2022 residents of Soweto and Alexandra marched to Hillbrow and Orange Grove under the Operation Dudula banner to forcibly remove foreigners claiming that undocumented foreign nationals were responsible for rising levels of crimes and immoral activity such as drug dealing and prostitution. High rates of unemployment and lack of economic opportunities for South African nationals were also cited as grievances by the group. Police forcibly dispersed the Operation Dudula marchers which resulted in clashes between the two groups. Representatives of Operation Dudula denied that their movement was xenophobic despite their stated aim to unilaterally forcibly evict illegal foreigners from South Africa.
Dudula Movement
The Dudula Movement, a similar although unrelated movement to Operation Dudula, emerged around the same time in Alexandra, Johannesburg. Acting as a vigilante organisation it targets foreign nationals its members believe to be undocumented. They deny targeting only black undocumented foreigners but undocumented foreigners of all races and national origins. Members of the movement have expressed grievances with lawlessness, unemployment, and a lack of economic opportunities as reasons for joining.
Reactions
South African Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said that foreign business owners cannot expect to co-exist peacefully with local business owners unless they share their trade secrets. According to Zulu, foreign business owners had an advantage over South African business owners due to marginalisation under apartheid. "They cannot barricade themselves in and not share their practices with local business owners," Zulu said. The comments were met with widespread criticism.
An inquiry by the Competition Commission – the country's anti-trust regulator, has indicated that a difference in performance between foreign and local business owners has created a perception that foreigners are more successful than locals. While there is nothing wrong with examining the dynamics of competition, the insinuation that foreign business owners were to blame for the decline of South African-owned small business was worrying.
Vanya Gastrow, a researcher from the African Centre for Migration in Johannesburg, published a case study on the economics of small traders in South Africa. The study titled "Somalinomics", outlined the trade practices of Somali traders in South Africa. According to Gastrow, most small foreign retailers set a low mark-up to make a high turnover, they locate their businesses in highly trafficked pedestrian areas, they open early and close late and have a wider product range.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...
conducted an interview with social media analyst Preetesh Sewraj which warned of the impact of fake news
Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in realit ...
stories which were being used to create panic amongst South Africans.
Politics
Xenophobic statements were commonly made by politicians from a wide range of political parties during the 2019 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would ...
. This has intensified as the ruling party risks losing its dominance of the political landscapes and parties from across the spectrum have relied on anti-immigrant messaging to bolster electoral support
Much of the local mobilisation appears rooted in struggles to control lucrative township tenders.
The politician Herman Mashaba
Herman Samtseu Philip Mashaba (born August 26, 1959) is a South African politician, entrepreneur and the current president of ActionSA, a party he launched on 29 August 2020. He served as the Mayor of Johannesburg from 2016 to 2019. He is the f ...
and his political party ActionSA
ActionSA is a South African political party established by former mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, soon after he left the Democratic Alliance.
The party states that it has been established to "set South Africa free from the restraints ...
have consistently advocated a hard-line position against immigration resulting in accusations by other political parties that they are xenophobic or pandering to xenophobic sentiments. Some of Mashaba's statements have been linked by the civil society organizations Amnesty International and Right2Know to incidence of xenophobic attacks and anti-migrant sentiment. In addition to ActionSA political parties such as the ANC, Congress of the People, DA, Economic Freedom Fighters
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African left-wing to far-left pan-Africanist and Marxist–Leninist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema, an ...
(EFF), Freedom Front Plus
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include a ...
, IFP, and Patriotic Alliance
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) is a South African political party, formed in November 2013 by, among others, businessman Gayton McKenzie, and by socialite Kenny Kunene, a former English teacher turned businessman.
The party at its announcement st ...
have all made statements or committed actions that have been regarded as xenophobic or voicing xenophobic sentiment.
Legislation
In 2020 the Gauteng Provincial government
The government of Gauteng province in South Africa consists of a unicameral legislature elected by proportional representation, and an executive branch headed by a Premier who is elected by the legislature.
Legislature
The provincial le ...
controversially proposed Gauteng Township Economic Development Bill which seeks to prevent businesses operated by foreign nationals without official South African residency from operating businesses in the province's informal economy. Supporters of the bill state that it will reduce xenophobia by clearing up regulatory regimes that foreigners are accused of regularly violating whilst detractors of the bill state that its explicit targeting of foreigners is itself xenophobic and legitimises xenophobia.
In March 2022, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi introduced a draft National Labour Migration Policy that lays out a quota system that limits the number of foreign nationals employed in certain sectors of the economy. The draft legislation has been criticized as xenophobic.
See also
* Immigration to South Africa
*Racism in South Africa
Racism in South Africa can be traced back to the earliest historical accounts of European interactions with Peoples of Africa, indigenous African peoples along the coast of Southern Africa. It has existed throughout several centuries in the histo ...
* Operation Fiela
* Illegal immigration to South Africa
References
Further reading
* Adam, Heribert, and Kogila Moodley, eds. ''Imagined liberation: Xenophobia, citizenship and identity in South Africa, Germany and Canada'' (African Sun Media, 2015)
online
* Akinola, Adeoye O. ed. ''The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa'' (Springer, 2018) 128pp.
* Gordon, Steven Lawrence. "Understanding xenophobic hate crime in South Africa." ''Journal of Public Affairs'' 20.3 (2020): e2076.
* Gordon, Steven. "Citizens’ preferences for tackling xenophobic violence in an African context: A South African case study." ''Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology'' (2021).
* Kerr, Philippa, Kevin Durrheim, and John Dixon. "Xenophobic violence and struggle discourse in South Africa." ''Journal of Asian and African Studies'' 54.7 (2019): 995-1011
online
* Landau, Loren B., eds. 'Exorcising the Demons Within: Xenophobia, Violence and Statecraft in Contemporary South Africa.' (Wits University Press, 2011
* Makhado, Mashudu Peter, and Tshifhiwa Rachel Tshisikhawe. "How Apartheid Education Encouraged and Reinforced Tribalism and Xenophobia in South Africa." in ''Impact of Immigration and Xenophobia on Development in Africa'' (IGI Global, 2021) pp. 131–151.
* Mudau, Tshimangadzo Selina, and Fumane Portia Khanare. "Xenophobia in Higher Education in South Africa." in ''Impact of Immigration and Xenophobia on Development in Africa'' (IGI Global, 2021) pp. 173–187.
* Neocosmos, Michael. ''From ‘Foreign Natives’ to ‘Native Foreigners’: Explaining Xenophobia in Post-apartheid South Africa, Citizenship and Nationalism, Identity and Politics'' (2010).
* Nyamnjoh, Francis B. ''Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa'' (Zed, 2006)
* Tafira, Hashi Kenneth. ''Xenophobia in South Africa: A History'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
* Tarisayi, Kudzayi Savious, and Sadhana Manik. "An unabating challenge: Media portrayal of xenophobia in South Africa." ''Cogent Arts & Humanities'' 7.1 (2020): 1859074
online
External links
One Night in Snake Park: Violence, Xenophobia, and Corruption in South Africa's Townships
Xenowatch: Monitoring and Mapping Xenophobia in South Africa
I Want to Go Home Forever: Stories of Becoming and Belonging in South Africa’s Great Metropolis
IOL – Xenophobia Special Report
Exorcising the Demons Within: Xenophobia, Violence and Statecraft in Contemporary South Africa
M&G – Xenophobia Special Report
The Times – Xenophobia Special Report
Who to Blame and What's to Gain? Reflections on Space, State, and Violence in Kenya and South Africa – Report and Analysis
http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp Africa Spectrum]
Boston Globe Photo Essay
Article on the Pogroms in Indian Journal
Statement on the attacks by the South African shack dwellers' movement ''Abahlali baseMjondolo''
Foreign Natives to Native Foreigners: explaining xenophobia in contemporary South Africa'
Michael Neocosmos, Codesria
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is Pan-African research organisation headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. The current President of CODESRIA is Dzodzi Tsikata.
Background
CODESRIA was established in ...
, Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in ...
, 2010
Journalists who documented the death of Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave help repatriate his body
* ttp://www.migration.org.za Reports on Xenophobia from the Forced Migration Studies Programme at Wits University in Johannesburg* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090214020538/http://antieviction.org.za/2008/06/22/a-collection-of-statements-and-essays-on-the-may-2008-pogroms/ A collection of articles and essays by civil society on the May 2008 Xenophobic attacks]
Ndlovu-Gatsheni: Africa for Africans or Africa for "Natives" Only? "New Nationalism" and Nativism in Zimbabwe and South Africa
http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp Africa Spectrum], Vol 44, No 1 (2009)
Rights at Risk: Refugees in the New South Africa
Honors Scholar Program Dissertation, University of Connecticut (2008).
"A Tale of Two Townships: Political Opportunity, Violent and Non-Violent Local Control in South Africa"
Alex Park's paper exploring causal factors of the 2008 violence
By Kerry Chance, ''Slate Magazine'', 20 June 2008
The spatial politics of xenophobia: everyday practices of Congolese migrants in Johannesburg
by Jennifer Greenburg, ''Transformation'', 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xenophobia In South Africa
2008 riots
2008 in South Africa
Anti-immigration politics in Africa
Riots and civil disorder in South Africa
Human rights abuses in South Africa
Society of South Africa
Demographics of South Africa
Racism in South Africa
Xenophobia in Africa