JOHANNESBURG (AP), South African opposition leader Julius Malema has condemned recent xenophobic attacks, questioning whether violence against immigrants has ever created jobs for locals. Speaking at the Collen Mashawana Foundation’s 14th anniversary celebration on April 30, Malema asked, “You say foreigners are taking jobs, yet after closing their businesses, how many jobs have you created?” His remarks followed a wave of attacks on foreign nationals, including Ghanaians, Zimbabweans, and Nigerians, that left businesses looted and shuttered. The Nigerian Consulate confirmed two Nigerians, Amaramiro Emmanuel and Ekpenyong Andrew were killed in the unrest.
Malema urged South Africans to focus on skills development and structural reforms rather than scapegoating immigrants. He warned that xenophobia could eventually turn inward, targeting South Africans of different ethnic groups, and compared demands to expel foreign children from schools and clinics to apartheid-era injustices. “I will never campaign for votes by promoting hatred against fellow Africans,” he said.
South Africa has faced repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence since 2008, when more than 60 people were killed in nationwide attacks. Similar unrest erupted in 2015 in Durban and Johannesburg, in 2019 when foreign-owned businesses were burned, and in 2022 during protests organized by the “Operation Dudula” movement. Each wave has strained diplomatic ties with neighboring countries and damaged South Africa’s international reputation.
Xenophobic tensions are not unique to South Africa. In Ghana, Nigerian traders faced hostility in 2019 and 2020, with authorities shutting down shops under claims of unfair competition. In Kenya, Somali refugees were attacked in Nairobi in 2012 amid accusations of job theft and crime. These incidents highlight a broader pattern across Africa, where economic frustrations often fuel hostility toward migrants.
Malema emphasized that jobs typically filled by migrants are low-paying and exploitative, roles many South Africans avoid. He argued that land ownership and inequality are the real issues driving unemployment, not immigrant labor. His challenge , “How many jobs have you created after attacks?” , underscores the emptiness of xenophobic violence as a solution to unemployment. His stance calls for constructive economic reforms rather than scapegoating immigrants, situating South Africa’s struggle within a broader African context where xenophobia has repeatedly flared with devastating consequences.
