South Africa unrest grows as migrants become ‘scapegoats’

South Africa is once again facing a rise in anti-migrant tensions, with vigilante groups reportedly going door to door demanding that undocumented foreign nationals leave the country by the end of June. Post-apartheid specialist Cécile Perrot tells RFI the violence reflects deeper social and economic problems and that migrants have increasingly become scapegoats for poverty and unemployment.

The latest unrest has alarmed neighbouring countries. Mozambique says hundreds of its citizens have already returned home, while countries including Ghana and Nigeria have moved to repatriate their nationals.

Kenya, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have urged their citizens to exercise caution.

South African police have also warned anti-immigration groups not to take the law into their own hands after two Mozambicans were killed in the southern coastal town of Mossel Bay.

Authorities said two people from Mozambique were killed "during activities associated with anti-foreigner demonstrations" at the weekend. Police rejected a statement by the Mozambican government that five of its citizens were killed as a "direct consequence of the xenophobic attacks".

Perrot, a professor at Rennes 2 University, explains why she believes anti-migrant violence is increasing, who is behind the campaigns and why the South African government has come under criticism for its response.

RFI: We've seen a resurgence of xenophobic violence in South Africa in recent weeks. How worrying is this?

Cécile Perrot: The NGO Xeno Watch has recorded more than 1,000 instances of attacks since 1994, with a surge starting in 2008. But these attacks take many different forms. They can be individual attacks, assaults and battery, or shops owned by migrants being looted or burned simply because they belong to a foreign nationality.

RFI: What is triggering this violence?

CP: At a macro level, it's the context of endemic poverty and unemployment, coupled with a feeling that migrants are responsible for this deteriorating living situation. This trend is further fuelled by social media, which amplifies hate speech against migrants. Migrants are made scapegoats.

RFI: Who are the perpetrators? They seem organised. We see groups like March and March or Operation Dudula, groups with well-known figures.

CP: Absolutely. These are movements fueled by civil society organisations. Operation Dudula emerged in 2021-2022 and gained notoriety, particularly for blocking access to hospitals and schools. Their actions were even declared illegal by the South African courts last year. This gave them a certain political stature.

More recently, last year, there was the March and March movement, launched by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, a radio presenter with a significant audience. All these organisations benefit from a favourable context in the country.

Civil society as a whole is either indifferent to the plight of migrants or in favour of deportation, especially of undocumented migrants. Meanwhile, the government is also quite passive in the face of these movements, and may even sometimes express its support.

South Africa rejects xenophobia claims over anti-migrant protests

RFI: Who are these organisations targeting?

CP: Officially, the discourse is primarily focused on undocumented migrants, whose numbers are the subject of much speculation. By definition, the figures are questionable. Estimates range from 4 million to 15 million.

These undocumented migrants are accused of "stealing jobs" and "taking advantage of South Africa's highly developed social welfare system at the expense of locals."

RFI: In reality, that's not the case, since they're targeting small business owners who are working legally.

CP: Absolutely. The attacks affect all migrants, regardless of their status. This idea that migrants are stealing jobs seems unfounded given the jobs migrants actually hold. Very often, it's small businesses or anything related to personal services, like cleaning houses.

RFI: Are these xenophobic acts of violence spontaneous? It seems organised, that there are resources behind them.

CP: There are a number of organisations that structure these demonstrations, these movements. We've mentioned Operation Dudula. All these organisations derive political benefit from these movements. In fact, Operation Dudula, for example, began as a civil society movement before establishing itself as a political movement.

Within these movements, there are several figures who are taking advantage of this anti-immigrant context to gain prominence and launch their political careers.

RFI: Where does their funding come from?

CP: From direct fundraising. For example, if you go to the March and March website, there are calls for donations. There have also been articles about support and funding for certain political movements.

RFI: How is the South African government reacting? Is it taking concrete measures?

CP: In reality, there is little action. This time, the government is truly being criticised, particularly internationally, for its inaction and its denial of reality. For example, recently, the Home Minister described xenophobic attacks as crimes, not xenophobia – in other words, the term xenophobia was dismissed.

There is probably an element of political strategy involved. The fact that migrants are being used as scapegoats also diverts attention from the government's weaknesses and missteps in terms of employment, education, and healthcare. It provides an easy target.

RFI: Is this violence having an impact on South Africa's relations with its neighbouring countries?

CP: Increasingly so. This is partly because the various governments across the African continent are themselves under pressure from their public opinion, which feels they were sometimes slow to react to the attacks in South Africa.

We are seeing a growing number of expressions of annoyance, at best, or anger, at worst, from these governments. This has a political impact on South Africa, which is trying to position itself as a leader on the continent.

It also has an economic impact, because it's important to remember that 25 percent of South Africa's trade is with the rest of the African continent.

This inteview has been adapted from the original in French by Alexandra Brangeon and edited for clarity.