A call to respect the rule of law and the dignity and human rights of all

Narratives which seeks to blame fellow Africans for some of South Africa’s significant social and economic problems pertaining to; healthcare, education, unemployment, various forms of crime - whether directed at refugees, asylum seekers, economic migrants fleeing poverty and others lawfully in South Africa - are not supported by credible data. The causes of South Africa's economic and social challenges are complex, deeply rooted and in which our government and all South Africans have various levels of agency.  These problems cannot be explained away by the presence of fellow Africans. To suggest otherwise risks diverting attention from our very own, South African, structural and governance issues that require urgent practical attention and, in some instances, policy reform.

It also ignores the reality that many fellow Africans in South Africa, whether, as refugees fleeing persecution or economic migrants seeking opportunity, contribute meaningfully to the country's economy, communities in which they live and broader development. They are workers, entrepreneurs, professionals, students and neighbours who form part of the social and economic fabric of the country. It also ignores the important fact that many of them have children, some of them born here and, all of whom must be considered “our children” from a constitutional perspective.

As Judge Wilson recently observed in the Treatment Action Campaign v Manager: Yeoville Clinic judgment, xenophobia is dangerous precisely because it misdirects public frustration away from the real causes of poverty, inequality and social exclusion. It encourages the search for convenient scapegoats rather than sustainable solutions.

At a time when anti-African foreigner sentiment is becoming increasingly virulent, viral and, in some recent cases, lethal, greater visible, firmer and public leadership in all spheres of our society including government, political parties and civil society is urgently needed in South Africa.  Silence in the face of harmful narratives risks deepening our social divisions and economic challenges, within our own country and on the continent, is egregiously dismissive of our obligations to our fellow Africans who stood by South Africa during some of its darkest hours and undermines South Africa's standing and capacity for good as one of Africa’s powerhouses.

We are reminded of the founding constitutional values that should guide our national conversation: human dignity, equality, the rule of law, and a commitment to fact and evidence over fear and assumption. These deserve application to all fellow human beings finding themselves on South African soil.