A South African journalist, Secretary-General of the African Editors Forum and Treasurer-General of the South African National Editors’ Forum, S’bu Ngalwa, tells OLUFEMI ADEDIRAN that political interests, rather than widespread public hostility, are fuelling the anti-foreigner campaign in South Africa. He also dismisses claims that migrants are responsible for the country’s economic and security challenges
What do you think is driving the ongoing anti-foreigners’ protests in South Africa?
There have been protests at different times over the past few years. It has not been a constant occurrence, but there have been periodic flare-ups. What is driving the xenophobic protests this time around is political opportunism. Some political actors are pursuing a political agenda while hiding behind the cloak of civil society.
The so-called March-and-March Movement behind the xenophobic protests is a movement with no clear origin or structure that appeared from nowhere. But for a movement that is supposed to be spontaneous, it appears to be well-funded. You see it mobilising people, paying for buses and moving protesters between provinces.
Let me give you an example. KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are neighbouring provinces, but if a bus leaves Durban for East London for a protest, that is a journey of about 600 kilometres. Somebody has paid for that. Somebody has provided the funding and sustained those being transported to that location for the duration of the protest.
