South Africa's Police Face Parliamentary Pressure Over Xenophobic Violence Response

South Africa’s law enforcement response to xenophobic violence came under direct parliamentary scrutiny on Tuesday, as President Cyril Ramaphosa faced pointed questions about whether police had moved decisively enough against perpetrators of attacks on foreign nationals.

Ramaphosa committed to prosecution where evidence supports charges. “The commitment I can make is that those who are perpetrating and have perpetrated acts of violence against foreign nationals are going to be dealt with,” he told Parliament. He confirmed that some perpetrators had already been arrested, and indicated further arrests and prosecutions would follow as police gathered sufficient evidence. Action would focus particularly on those who caused injury or death, and on individuals identified as leaders of the violence.

EFF leader Julius Malema challenged that account directly. He argued that identified perpetrators had committed violence in the presence of police without facing arrest, framing the pattern as evidence of state complicity rather than isolated vigilante action. “In certain instances, we have seen perpetrators unleashing their violence against African immigrants in the presence of the police. And yet not one of these perpetrators is arrested,” Malema said. He specifically referenced a June meeting between Ramaphosa and Insizwa Nobunsizwa leaders Ngizwe Mchunu and Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, telling the President bluntly, “You should have locked them up that day.”

Ramaphosa pushed back. He said those seen to be leading the violence were “of direct interest to the police,” and that the process of following up on those individuals was ongoing. Short on specifics, he was longer on assurances.

The exchange extended beyond domestic policing into South Africa’s continental standing. Malema cited an incident in which Nigerian President Bola Tinubu reportedly snubbed International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola during an attempt to explain South Africa’s position, and asked what steps Ramaphosa was taking to restore the country’s reputation as a pan-African voice.

Ramaphosa rejected the characterization of isolation. He said the government had engaged other African leaders directly, primarily through Lamola, and that at the SADC Summit in Durban the previous week, South Africa had briefed regional leaders on migration without being prompted. The summit’s communique, he noted, called for “a coordinated and multidimensional dialogue at the regional level to address the underlying drivers of migration and develop comprehensive, sustainable and effective responses.” Leaders had responded positively, he said.

Meanwhile, on the broader migration question, Ramaphosa acknowledged the economic pull South Africa exerts on migrants from across the region, describing the country as widely viewed as an economic oasis. He noted that many migrants flee neighboring countries out of necessity, with their lives in danger. Governance problems in those countries, however, were matters for their own citizens to resolve. “We respect the sovereignty of those countries,” he said, adding that regional bodies, not South Africa alone, should address challenges in Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “We are not lone rangers. We must act in unison with our region.”

South Africa’s diplomatic positioning on migration is now a live operational question at the continental level. Ghana has called for the xenophobic violence issue to be placed on the agenda of the African Union’s next ordinary summit in February. South Africa has countered with a proposal for a dedicated special AU summit on migration as a continental problem, one that would examine the underlying drivers, including poor economic and political governance and insecurity, rather than treating the issue as a bilateral grievance. Whether that proposal gains traction, and whether domestic arrests follow the parliamentary commitments made on Tuesday, will determine how much of Ramaphosa’s assurance translates into actual delivery.