XENOPHOBIA MUST NEVER BECOME SOUTH AFRICA’S NATIONAL IDENTITY

The continuous xenophobic attacks against African nationals in South Africa, especially the looting and destruction of Ghanaian-owned shops and businesses, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. No grievance, economic frustration, or political excuse can justify mob violence against innocent people whose only crime is seeking lawful opportunities to survive and contribute to society.

South Africa has every sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws and to deport foreigners who reside illegally within its borders. No serious-minded African would oppose that. Every nation has the responsibility to protect its territorial integrity and regulate migration according to its laws. However, there is a clear difference between enforcing immigration laws and turning foreign Africans into targets for hatred, violence, looting, and humiliation.

If certain foreigners are undocumented, the South African government must use lawful and internationally recognised processes to identify, arrest, prosecute where necessary, and deport them through proper legal channels. That is how civilised states behave. What must never happen is the dangerous generalisation that treats every Ghanaian, Nigerian, Zimbabwean, Ethiopian, or foreign African as an illegal immigrant or criminal. Such reckless stereotyping only fuels chaos and deepens divisions among Africans.

The disturbing images of Ghanaian-owned shops being attacked and looted should alarm every African leader. Today it is Ghanaian businesses in South Africa. Tomorrow it could be South African businesses elsewhere on the continent. Those attacking foreign-owned businesses must understand that South African companies have spread across Africa and enjoy enormous profits from other African economies, including Ghana.

Companies linked to South Africa operate major investments across the continent in telecommunications, banking, mining, retail, media, and hospitality. In Ghana alone, businesses such as MTN, MultiChoice (DStv), Stanbic Bank, and several other South African-linked enterprises continue to thrive because Ghana has maintained peace, tolerance, and respect for foreign investment. If Ghanaian businesses continue to be targeted in South Africa, there is every possibility that angry citizens in other African countries may begin retaliatory attacks against South African-owned businesses within their territories. That would be disastrous for African unity, regional trade, and continental cooperation.

We must not continue condemning Europeans and Americans for exploiting Africa while Africans themselves demonstrate even greater hostility toward one another. It is hypocrisy to cry about colonialism, racism, and economic domination from the West while fellow Africans are hunted, assaulted, and robbed on African soil simply because they come from another African country.

Yes, some Ghanaians are employed by South African companies operating in Ghana. But South Africans must also understand that the closure of these companies in Ghana would hurt South Africa economically far more than it would hurt Ghana alone. Many of these businesses repatriate enormous profits back to South Africa every year. African markets have contributed significantly to the expansion and survival of many South African corporations. Respect, therefore, must be mutual.

The South African government must rise above populist rhetoric and mob sentiments. It must demonstrate leadership by protecting all lawful residents, condemning xenophobic violence unequivocally, and using diplomacy and international law to address illegal immigration concerns. Failure to do so risks creating a dangerous cycle of retaliation across Africa, where countries begin responding to attacks on their citizens with economic and social reprisals against South African interests.

Africa cannot build unity under the banner of the African Union while Africans remain unsafe in fellow African countries. Xenophobia is not patriotism. Looting is not justice. Violence against fellow Africans is a betrayal of the Pan-African dream that leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela fought to establish.

South Africa must choose between the path of lawful governance and the dangerous road of mob nationalism before the consequences spread across the continent.

The Trial News