Ramaphosa Vows Strict Immigration Enforcement After Attacks On Foreigners

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday condemned the recent violent attacks on foreign nationals across the country, describing the perpetrators as opportunists exploiting legitimate public grievances, while vowing to crack down on illegal immigration through the law.

In his weekly letter to South Africans published on the Presidency website, Ramaphosa said the attacks did not represent the views of South Africa’s people or its government.

“These are the acts of opportunists who are exploiting the legitimate grievances, particularly those of the poor, under the false guise of community activism,” he wrote, adding that some individuals were unlawfully stopping people to check identification and conducting searches of private property.

“Such lawlessness will not be tolerated, regardless of who the perpetrators or victims are,” he said.

At the same time, the president acknowledged what he described as a genuine and pressing challenge of illegal immigration, saying undocumented migration was placing strain on healthcare, housing and municipal services, particularly in poor communities, and distorting the labour market by enabling employers to exploit cheaper undocumented workers over citizens.

Ramaphosa said the Border Management Authority had intercepted approximately 450,000 people attempting to enter South Africa illegally in the past financial year and that the government planned to hire up to 10,000 labour inspectors to enforce immigration and labour laws in the workplace.

He added that arrests and deportations of undocumented foreign nationals were ongoing.
The president also turned the spotlight on South African citizens, saying those involved in fake marriages, the illegal sale of state-subsidised housing and bribery to facilitate access to social services for undocumented migrants were deepening the problem. “Many South Africans are exploiting undocumented labour in households and in the informal sector,” he said.

Ramaphosa pushed back against what he described as attempts to damage South Africa’s international reputation, pointing to the country’s longstanding record on African solidarity since the end of apartheid in 1994.

He noted that last year alone, visitors from African countries accounted for more than eight million of a total of 10.5m tourist arrivals. “There is no place in South Africa for xenophobia, ethnic mobilisation, intolerance or violence,” he said.

Ramaphosa’s letter comes as the attacks have sparked a unified diplomatic reaction across the continent, with Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe all raising formal concerns.

Ghana has officially petitioned the African Union, urging continental intervention ahead of the AU Mid-Year Coordination Summit scheduled for June in Egypt.

Nigeria established a crisis notification unit within its diplomatic missions in South Africa and advised its citizens in high-tension areas to temporarily shut their businesses and remain indoors.