Xenophobia: Is Mandela's Pan-Africanism dream shattered?
Different African countries have reacted firmly to South Africa’s xenophobic attacks, with Nigeria leading by summoning South Africa’s envoy and evacuating its citizens, Ghana lodging diplomatic protests, Botswana warning of possible economic retaliation and Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho issuing safety advisories and preparing repatriations.
Prof. Alex Bashasha. (File)
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OPINION
By Prof. Alex Bashasha
South Africa’s rising tide of xenophobia is steadily burying Nelson Mandela’s Pan-Africanism dream. The liberation struggle that brought down apartheid was never a purely South African effort. It was sustained by sacrifices across the continent — Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and many others opened their borders, trained fighters and bore heavy diplomatic and economic costs.
Mandela emerged as Africa’s collective conscience, embodying the vision of unity that transcended national boundaries. Today, every attack on fellow Africans chips away at that legacy and risks turning one of history’s greatest liberation victories into a moral disappointment.
Xenophobia, defined as fear or hatred of foreigners, is not just an emotional reaction. It is a social poison that transforms neighbours into enemies and migrants into scapegoats. Every looted shop, every migrant assaulted and every family displaced is more than an isolated tragedy — it is another crack in the foundation of Mandela’s dream of a united Africa.
His words, “our common humanity transcends all national boundaries,” were not meant to remain in history books but to shape Africa’s future. Yet, narrow nationalism and political opportunism are diluting that vision, with migrants unfairly blamed for unemployment and inequality.
Uganda’s recent repatriation of its citizens from South Africa aboard chartered flights, following President Yoweri Museveni’s directive, is more than an emergency evacuation. It is a painful reminder of how fragile Africa’s integration project remains.
Uganda deserves credit for acting swiftly to protect its nationals, but the need for such extraordinary measures exposes a contradiction: while African leaders champion continental unity, ordinary Africans are increasingly treated as strangers on their own continent.
This contradiction is especially bitter, given Uganda’s role in supporting South Africa’s liberation, hosting African National Congress fighters at Kaweweta and immortalising Mandela through Namboole stadium.
These responses highlight a growing continental frustration: governments that once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with South Africa during apartheid now find themselves compelled to protect their nationals from hostility.
The contradiction between Africa’s integration rhetoric and the reality of Africans being treated as outsiders on their own continent is glaring.
Economically, xenophobia is self-defeating. Migrants often occupy jobs that locals avoid, establish businesses, pay taxes and stimulate commerce. Studies consistently show that migrants generate employment rather than steal it.
Skilled doctors, engineers, lecturers, and entrepreneurs rarely remain where their safety is uncertain. Human capital quietly leaves, businesses relocate, investors hesitate and universities lose researchers.
Organisations such as Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa and Lawyers for Human Rights have warned that xenophobia itself — not migration — is denying South Africa the full benefits of immigrant contributions.
History offers sobering lessons. Ghana’s 1969 Aliens Compliance Order, Nigeria’s 1983 mass expulsions and Zambia’s periodic anti-foreign rhetoric all damaged regional goodwill. Egypt and Libya have witnessed hostility against African refugees, creating humanitarian crises.
Even the US has suffered economically from anti-immigrant sentiment. Uganda itself provides a stark example: in 1972, Idi Amin expelled over 50,000 Asians, many of whom had lived in Uganda for generations and were central to commerce, industry and education.
Amin claimed they were “sabotaging Uganda’s economy,” famously accusing them of “milking the cow without feeding it”. Yet, this rhetoric masked the reality: the expulsion devastated Uganda’s economic base, collapsing businesses, draining skilled professionals and leaving scars that took decades to heal.
Banks shut down, industries crumbled and Uganda’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank dramatically, forcing the country into prolonged economic decline. It was only years later, after the return of some expelled families and foreign investment, that Uganda began to recover.
The irony is striking: South Africa recently dragged Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide against Palestinians, yet within its own borders, fellow Africans face violence, displacement and dehumanisation.
If xenophobic attacks continue unchecked, the question arises — should Africa itself consider hauling South Africa before international courts for failing to protect African citizens?
Under international law, xenophobic violence can be framed as a violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees dignity, equality and protection for all Africans, regardless of nationality. The International Court of Justice and regional tribunals could, in theory, hear cases if South Africa’s government is shown to have failed in its duty to protect migrants from systematic attacks.
Such proceedings would highlight the hypocrisy of a nation suing Israel for genocide while tolerating abuses at home, raising the question of whether Africa should hold South Africa accountable in the same way it demands accountability from others.
The social consequences are equally profound. Xenophobia tears apart families in ways statistics cannot capture. Imagine a foreigner legally married to a South African, raising children who proudly sing the national anthem, suddenly chased away for being “foreign.” What becomes of the spouse? What nationality do the children belong to emotionally? Xenophobia creates impossible questions that no immigration policy can answer, because love and parenthood cannot be divided by borders.
Politically, unchecked xenophobia erodes South Africa’s leadership role in Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed constitutional values of equality and dignity, but the challenge lies in consistent enforcement against vigilante violence and incitement. If xenophobic attacks continue, South Africa risks losing the trust necessary for continental integration. Free trade requires mobility, investment requires stability, and unity requires trust. Xenophobia destroys all three.
President Museveni has rightly said Africa’s prosperity lies in expanding markets rather than retreating behind borders. The African Union must, therefore, move beyond routine statements of concern. It should strengthen early-warning mechanisms, monitor xenophobic violence, facilitate mediation and enforce accountability when governments fail to protect African citizens. Pan-Africanism cannot survive if Africans themselves are unsafe in Africa.
Mandela said: “The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.” Xenophobia robs migrants of dignity while diminishing the moral authority of societies that tolerate hatred. Africa’s liberation was achieved through shared sacrifice, and that history created a moral obligation that cannot be repaid through monuments alone. It must be honoured by protecting the dignity of every African, regardless of nationality.
If Pan-Africanism is reduced to conference declarations while Africans continue fleeing fellow Africans, Mandela’s dream will fade into regret. Africa’s greatest wealth has always been its people. When brothers become strangers, the continent grows poorer. But when Africans choose solidarity over suspicion, co-operation over fear and unity over division, Mandela’s unfinished dream can still be rescued. The choice belongs to this generation before history records that Africa inherited freedom together but squandered its promise apart.
The writer is the director-general of TABKEN Consults on Development and a fellow of Unicaribbean Business School