South Africa’s ANC condemns wave of anti-foreigner attacks, looting, and extortion

The Secretary-General of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, Fikile Mbalula, has strongly condemned the escalating violence, unlawful profiling, and vigilantism targeting foreign nationals in the country.

Speaking in a live broadcast, Mbalula stated that the ANC completely rejects what he described as criminal syndicate-led operations hiding behind the national migration debate to orchestrate hate crimes, extortion, and systemic looting.

He warned that the country is witnessing an organised cross-racial cartel that pretends to be protecting South African borders while running extortion rackets on poor market traders and terrorising patients inside public clinics.

Mbalula acknowledged that the migration issue has been allowed to fester for too long by relevant authorities. However, he rejected the international classification of the crisis as generic xenophobia, tracing its roots instead to what he called ethno-nationalism of a special type with hate crime elements.

He exposed the sophisticated nature of the anti-foreigner movement, noting that its leadership cuts across traditional racial lines and relies on heavily funded propaganda networks. The movement, he said, is organised around South Africa’s ethnic identity rather than any single ethnic group, and it mobilises through political parties, civic organisations, online influencers, and traditional cultural networks.

The ANC leader made it clear that the ruling party draws a sharp line between legitimate border management discussions and the outright violence playing out on South African streets. He categorically disowned vigilante mobs, including those associated with groups like Operation Dudula, that have routinely harassed African migrants, including Nigerian business owners.

Mbalula stated that the ANC condemns without qualification the unlawful behaviour seen on the streets, including vigilantism in any form, opportunistic crimes, muggings, looting of shops and stalls, extortion of street traders, and harassment of patients queuing at clinics. He added that vigilantism is not patriotism, looting is not service delivery, and extortion is not the law.

He also called on the South African Police Service to strictly enforce the law without prejudice, emphasising that the human rights of every legal migrant remain fully protected under South Africa’s constitution. The ANC defends the constitutional rights of all lawful residents, South Africans and non-South Africans alike, while also defending the country’s right to secure its borders.