South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has reminded citizens about how Africans played a supportive role in liberating the country from apartheid and warned against repaying such solidarity with hostility against them.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that the appeal to the conscience of South Africans came amidst rising xenophobic attacks against fellow Africans, including Nigerians, in parts of the country over alleged illegal migration raising concerns over safety and diplomatic relations.
In his 2026 Freedom Day address in Bloemfontein, President cautioned that “It must never be that we trample… the African fellowship that made our freedom possible”, stressing that while concerns about undocumented migration may be valid, they must not be allowed to degenerate into violence or hatred against foreign nationals.
According to him, “We should never allow the legitimate concerns of our communities about illegal migration to breed prejudice towards our fellow Africans. We must not allow these concerns to give rise to xenophobia.”
Upbraiding individuals engaging in mob actions against suspected migrants, Ramaphosa emphasised that law enforcement remained the exclusive responsibility of the State.
“You cannot take the law into your own hands. Don’t blame foreigners — follow the law,” he admonished citizens.
Ramaphosa however assured of a firmer approach by his administration to address illegal migration, explaining that authorities were intensifying enforcement measures by “clamping down on illegal migration and on businesses that employ undocumented workers”.
Cautioning that such actions must be carried out strictly within the bounds of the law, the president stated unequivocally that “We will not allow people to take the law into their own hands”.
Recall that a Nigerian human rights activist, Francis Nwapa, had in a press statement Monday April 27, 2026, accused Ramaphosa of enabling rising xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other foreign nationals through silence and failure to act decisively against perpetrators.
Nwapa condemned the reported denial of access to a Nigerian father and his son at a public facility in South Africa despite presenting valid legal identification.
A viral video had captured South African citizens confronting the Nigerian man and his child at a public facility, preventing them from gaining entry.
The group, largely made up of women, was seen challenging the man’s right to be there while the defiant Nigerian countered them, brandishing his document while insisting on his legal status.
“Are you immigration, you are not an immigration, this is my IDB, you have no right,” he told his challengers.