“We are Ashamed”: Ramaphosa Saddened Over Treatment of Foreign Nationals in South Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the mistreatment of foreign nationals, saying hostility towards migrants goes against the regional solidarity needed to build a united Southern Africa.

Speaking at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville campus in Durban on Friday, August 14, ahead of the 46th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit, Ramaphosa said intimidation and harassment of people perceived to be foreigners could not be accepted.

Ramaphosa said South Africans should be concerned and ashamed when people from other countries are mistreated or forced to leave the country because of threats of violence.

He said such actions were inconsistent with the principles of solidarity that led to the creation of SADC, warning that countries could not support regional integration at political meetings while allowing exclusion and hostility within their own communities.

“As South Africans, we are deeply concerned and ashamed that people from other nations, some whose leaders are here, were treated badly, and were even forced to leave the country under threat of violence,” Ramaphosa said.

“The criminal actions of a few within our communities are a repudiation of the solidarity upon which this Southern African community is built. We cannot preach integration at summits and practice exclusion in the streets of our countries,” he added.

The president said the issue should not be viewed only as a South African problem, but as a broader challenge for the Southern African region.

He argued that migration has been part of the history of Southern Africa for generations and has contributed to the region’s cultural diversity and social life.

“Southern Africa has borne witness to the movement of people over millennia. Our people are the products of migration,” Ramaphosa said.

He pointed to similarities in languages and cultures across Southern African countries as evidence of the long history of movement and interaction between communities in the region.

His comments came as regional leaders gathered in South Africa for the SADC Summit, where issues affecting cooperation and integration among member states are expected to feature prominently.

Ramaphosa said the region’s commitment to integration should be reflected not only in agreements between governments but also in how ordinary people from neighbouring countries are treated within each member state.