- President Ramaphosa urged African nations to coordinate migration policy following a surge in xenophobic violence and diplomatic tensions.
- Over one thousand four hundred Nigerians were evacuated as anti-immigrant protests disrupted businesses and sparked international legal petitions.
- South Africa is tightening enforcement measures including a national biometric registry and dedicated courts to handle expulsion proceedings.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged African governments Monday to coordinate migration policy as attacks on foreign nationals drove evacuations, business closures and a diplomatic confrontation with Nigeria and Ghana.
He made the appeal during the opening address to the Pan-African Parliament at Gallagher Estate in Midrand. The speech followed weeks of anti-immigrant protests that blamed undocumented migrants for unemployment, crime and pressure on public services.
Ramaphosa called for “firm, fair and effective immigration management” alongside “an unwavering defence of human dignity and the rule of law.” He warned against turning migrants into “scapegoats for unemployment, crime or shortcomings in the delivery of public services.”
The president condemned xenophobia and “Afrophobia,” describing the attacks as “sad and abhorrent.” He also warned that unmanaged cross-border movement could threaten the sovereignty, security and social order of African countries.
“South Africa cannot solve this challenge alone. It needs to work together with its sister countries and with the peoples of our continent to address this problem.”
Ramaphosa said displacement reflected deeper pressures, including conflict, instability, governance failures, poverty and social discord. The appeal placed migration management inside a broader regional policy debate rather than treating the unrest only as a South African policing issue.
Evacuations have accelerated as the death toll rises
At least 1,490 Nigerians had been evacuated from South Africa since the latest violence began in June 2026. Nearly 150,000 people of various nationalities fled the country during the preceding weeks.
The departures followed demonstrations that shut businesses in several cities throughout June and July. Thousands of foreign-owned businesses closed to avoid looting and arson.
The violence has also produced competing casualty counts. Five Nigerian nationals were killed in xenophobic violence during 2026, including Ibeh Simon, who died on July 23, 2026, during a South African Police Service operation. The confirmed fatalities also include two Mozambicans and one Malawian.
A Nigerian national’s death in Cape Town last week intensified the dispute. Abuja accused South African police of using “egregious tactics.”
Nigeria and Ghana have condemned the attacks and pressed for discussion at the next African Union summit. Ghana has also considered referring South Africa to the African Union over recurring violence.
Pretoria and Abuja trade accusations over policing
South Africa has defended arrests of foreign nationals as lawful enforcement rather than collective punishment. Ronald Lamola, the country’s minister of international relations and cooperation, traveled to Abuja as a special envoy to repair diplomatic ties.
Lamola said the arrests reflected “targeted, evidence-based policing rather than profiling.” Sola Enikanolaiye, Nigeria’s minister of state for foreign affairs, met him in Abuja on July 27 and urged South Africa to prevent further attacks.
Enikanolaiye also raised concerns about state “complicity” if authorities failed to protect foreign nationals. The exchange showed how policing decisions had become a bilateral issue.
Chrispin Phiri, a spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, defended the country’s legal framework. He called a petition to the International Criminal Court regarding the violence “opportunistic.”
Two Ghanaian plaintiffs, represented by former government spokesperson Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, filed that petition on July 15, 2026. They alleged “widespread and systematic attacks” against migrants.
Protest movements demand that undocumented migrants leave
The unrest has been driven partly by Operation Dudula and the “March and March” movement, led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. The groups accuse migrants of worsening unemployment, crime and pressure on public services.
The “March and March” movement set June 30, 2026, as a deadline for all undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa. Demonstrations reached a notable flashpoint in Mossel Bay in late May 2026.
Ramaphosa has rejected private efforts to stop people and inspect their immigration status. He compared that practice with “how the apartheid oppressors operated,” invoking the pass laws that restricted the movement of Black South Africans before 1994.
The president also said the government had taken a firm position against intimidation, vigilantism and violence directed at foreign nationals.
“Scapegoating asylum seekers, refugees and migrants for poor service delivery, unemployment and crime could ignite xenophobic violence.”
He added that attacking people suspected of wrongdoing solely because they are foreign was “immoral, racist and criminal.”
South Africa is tightening enforcement while seeking regional coordination
Ramaphosa’s regional appeal follows measures announced after a June 7, 2026, speech. The package combines penalties for employers, faster expulsion proceedings and a new identity system.
The government plans criminal prosecutions against businesses that use undocumented labor. It also intends to establish dedicated courts to expedite expulsion procedures.
A national biometric registry is planned to combat identity theft and track migration. The measures reflect the government’s effort to distinguish stricter administration from attacks based on nationality.
| Measure | Intended purpose |
|---|---|
| Criminal prosecutions for employers using undocumented labor | Penalize businesses employing undocumented workers |
| Dedicated courts | Speed up expulsion procedures |
| National biometric registry | Combat identity theft and track migration |
The speech did not present enforcement as a substitute for cooperation. Ramaphosa argued that African governments must address the conditions that push people across borders while preserving lawful migration systems.
That regional approach faces pressure from governments whose citizens have been targeted. Ghana and Nigeria are pushing for a joint response ahead of the next African Union summit, while South Africa works to repair relations through Lamola’s mission.
The Pan-African Parliament session took place on Monday, July 27, 2026, during the first ordinary session of the seventh legislature. Ramaphosa’s warning linked the immediate violence to a longer-term risk: unmanaged movement, unresolved displacement and public anger could damage regional security and social order.
The policy dispute now has both a diplomatic and domestic timetable. Evacuations are continuing, legal complaints are moving forward, and the June enforcement measures remain the government’s stated response as African states debate a common migration framework.
