Just over 30 years after the end of apartheid, South Africa again finds its reputation being dragged through the mud amid accusations of xenophobia and racism.
But this time the violence and hatred are being directed by black Africans against other black Africans.
The March and March movement – an anti-immigration campaign led by radio presenter and influencer Jacinta NgobeseZuma (not related to former president Jacob Zuma) – has exploited government failure to prevent businesses, often in the hospitality and construction sectors, from employing undocumented migrants from other African countries and paying them well below the minimum wage of R30 ($1.82, €1.60) per hour.
Anti-migrant protests have turned violent and deadly. Dozens of Africans from the likes of Mozambique, Malawi, Ghana and Ethiopia are reported to have been killed by gangs of protestors.
March and March has set a 30 June deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. And though president Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has rejected the deadline and violence as “reprehensible acts of vigilantism” which “risk tearing apart our relationship with the continent and the world,” ministers are struggling to keep control of what has become a toxic and threatening environment.
