Xenophobia Row: Ghana And Nigeria Join Forces to Counter South Africa At AU | Firstpost Africa

[00:00:00]Moving on, let's turn our attention to the xenophobia row in South Africa.

[00:00:04]Nigeria and Ghana have joined forces to take the matter to the African Union.

[00:00:10]But Pretoria sees this as an isolation campaign, which is set to fail.

[00:00:15]Over the past months, anti-migrant tensions have gripped South Africa.

[00:00:20]Locals have been protesting against illegal immigration, blaming undocumented migrants for stealing their jobs and putting pressure on the already crippling public services.

[00:00:31]Soon the protests turned violent and deadly, forcing migrants to flee for their lives.

[00:00:38]Up to now, more than 150,000 foreigners have left South Africa. Most of them being Malawians and Zimbabweans.

[00:00:48]Several have also been reportedly killed.

[00:00:51]Nigeria and Ghana have made direct claims that some of their nationals were killed in the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

[00:01:00]But Pretoria has refused to link those deaths with xenophobic violence.

[00:01:05]Now back in May, Ghana urged the African Union to probe violence against migrants in South Africa.

[00:01:11]And now Nigeria, too, has joined that push.

[00:01:16]On the 17th of July, Ghana's Foreign Minister, Samuel Owusu Afriyie Ablakwa, met with Nigeria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Encanolae, on the sidelines of the ECOWAS Summit in Sierra Leone.

[00:01:32]Now following the meeting, the two countries have released a joint statement protesting Afrophobic protests in South Africa.

[00:01:42]>> Both sides condemned all forms of xenophobia, Afrophobia, intolerance, and violence against fellow Africans, emphasizing that such acts are contrary to the shared values of Pan-Africanism and the collective progress of the continent. The ministers agreed to work closely together to ensure that the issue of Afrophobia is placed on the agenda of the next African Union Summit.

[00:02:07]>> How has Pretoria reacted to it?

[00:02:10]South Africa has welcomed the proposal to debate the issue at the African Union.

[00:02:15]But at the same time, it also issued a stern message to Abuja and Accra.

[00:02:20]South Africa's presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told media that Ghana and Nigeria will not succeed in using migration to isolate South Africa diplomatically.

[00:02:33]>> We have welcomed the opportunity to place the issue of migration on the AU agenda, where we can discuss both the pull and push factors of migration. More importantly, we can also engage on every country's responsibility to contribute to the development of Africa in order to avoid a situation where one country has to carry the burden of the entire continent.

[00:02:55]We are ready for that discussion at the AU.

[00:03:00]>> Speaking on the issue of attacks on migrants in South Africa, the Ramaphosa government has warned vigilantes against taking the law into their own hands.

[00:03:10]At the same time, Pretoria has also launched a crackdown on undocumented foreigners living in the country.

[00:03:17]Amid the to-and-fro between South Africa and other African nations, another issue is worsening the migrant crisis.

[00:03:26]And that's misinformation.

[00:03:28]Just last week, a Congolese boxer named Romeo Katomba died in a house fire in Johannesburg.

[00:03:36]His death is under investigation.

[00:03:38]But social media users started alleging that his death was as the result of a xenophobic attack.

[00:03:45]The South African government has labeled the allegation as fake news, and Katomba's neighbors have also firmly rejected those claims.

[00:03:54]>> Xenophobia is being used uh as a tool in any incident uh at this point of time, you know, it's like a coincidence. Um it wasn't xenophobia that took his life.

[00:04:08]>> As diplomatic tensions simmer and false narratives fan the flames online, the human cost continues to mount. Whether through structural reform or continent-wide dialogue at uh the upcoming African Union summit one thing is clear. African leaders must move beyond finger-pointing to find a lasting solution before more lives are caught in the crossfire.

[00:04:35]>> The world doesn't fit in boxes, so why should your news?

[00:04:40]From battlefields to negotiation tables, from internet outrage to real-world [music] injustice.

[00:04:48]The conversations everyone is having and the ones they're avoiding. [music] It's the same show, but this new year, First Post America gets a new look. I'm Keri Donsten and this is First Post America.