The tragicomedy of xenophobia in South Africa is that many of those instigating attacks against Black foreigners may well be persecuting their own bloodlines without even realising it. The Mfecane era, anyone? Or are we pretending that did not happen?

Personally, I see what is happening in SA as a lingering remnant of apartheid (and colonialism). As you may recall, during apartheid just as was the case in other colonial state, white South Africans fuelled tribal divisions and conflicts among Black people. Clearly, that legacy has now morphed into xenophobia to safeguard the ‘master’.

Instead of confronting the real sources of their problems, many Black South Africans are overlooking the root causes and directing their frustrations toward fellow Africans. A classic case of barking up the wrong tree, if you needed one. It is unfortunate that President Ramaphosa has decided to be inside rather than outside the whale. His recent statement is evident that he has folded in the face of hate. A leader who was there during the fight against apartheid would would have taken  a much stronger stand against xenophobes. I guess times have changed, indeed. Probably the reason he made that trip across the Atlantic against the advice only to ge a humiliation.

It is evident that apartheid (and colonialism everywhere) exploited and deepened tribal divisions among Black South Africans as a means of maintaining control. Today, those divisions have evolved into xenophobia, with vulnerable African migrants and communities becoming convenient scapegoats. Rather than confronting the structural causes of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, many South Africans are being encouraged by politically connected figures, including Elon Musk and some voices within American political leadership, to direct their anger toward fellow Africans who are often facing the very same hardships. It is therefore too obvious for anyone with a brain size  of the rat’s brain,  to conclude that what we are witnessing is a disturbing echo of apartheid.  Thus, this misdirected rage by black South African and their politicians serves no one except those who benefit when people are divided.

Xenophobia, much like Brexit and the growing popularity of anti-immigration movements such as Reform UK. Restore Britain, or similar groups elsewhere, is a symptom, not the disease. Scapegoating fellow Africans will not solve South Africa’s problems. It will neither create jobs nor reduce poverty, inequality or economic exclusion. It merely redirects public anger away from those who hold power and toward those who are equally vulnerable.

For the ANC sand President Ramaphosa, I can only say leaders who do not challenge hate unequivocally legitimize it. South Africa’s hard-won democratic ideals were built on solidarity, dignity, and justice, not on the persecution of fellow Black people. Time and again, I am reminded of how ineffective the African Union has been in addressing challenges that threaten African unity and human dignity. Ramaphosa, just like Starmer, appears more interested in being inside than outside the whale, by allowing xenophobia to fester . This is a tragic betrayal of South Africa’s freedom struggle and of African solidarity itself.