South Africa’s Ugly Turn: Africans Against Africans, Mandela’s Legacy Under Threat

At a time when global powers are increasingly consolidating economic, technological, and geopolitical dominance, internal African divisions become particularly dangerous. The world is not becoming more balanced; it is becoming more competitive and, in many respects, more unequal. Smaller and less coordinated nations often find themselves pressured economically, politically, and even culturally.

In such a context, episodes of xenophobia within African states, as witnessed in recent days in South Africa, risk weakening the continent’s collective position. When African societies turn inward against each other, they inadvertently reinforce the very fragmentation that external forces have historically exploited.

South Africans have the right to protest against illegal migration in their country, and this is a valid concern. However, many reports show that these long-running demonstrations and related acts of violence often do not make a clear difference between legal and illegal migrants. In some cases, anyone who looks foreign, especially black Africans from other countries, becomes a target. People are not asked for documents; they are simply told to leave, and in many situations they face insults and/or physical attacks. The images coming out of Johannesburg and other cities are deeply troubling. Illegal migration must be addressed, but the real challenge is not whether South Africa, or any country, can manage migration alone. The real question is whether Africa can build systems that turn movement between countries into shared growth instead of conflict and tension.

Migration within Africa is often portrayed as a problem. Yet, in reality, it is also a powerful indicator of uneven development and untapped potential. Labour mobility, if properly managed, can strengthen regional economies, address skill shortages, and foster cross-border innovation.

However, this requires deliberate policy coordination: integrated labour markets, mutual recognition of qualifications, regional development corridors, and investment in border economies. Without these mechanisms, migration will continue to be perceived through a lens of scarcity rather than opportunity.

The events in South Africa should not be dismissed as mere domestic unrest, nor should they be reduced to moral condemnation alone. They should be understood as a warning signal: that without deeper economic integration and shared development strategies, African societies will increasingly turn against one another under pressure.

The urgency is clear. Africa cannot afford to fragment itself at a time when global systems reward scale, unity, and coordination. Internal division weakens bargaining power in trade, investment, technology access, and geopolitical negotiation.

True African solidarity is not only a political slogan; it is an economic necessity. It requires moving beyond reactive nationalism and toward structured continental cooperation that addresses unemployment, inequality, and mobility together rather than in isolation.

The protests in South Africa reflect real economic pain, but they also expose a deeper structural vulnerability across the continent. If left unaddressed, such tensions risk escalating into cycles of exclusion and instability that undermine long-term development.

Africa stands at a critical crossroads. It can either turn its economic frustrations into division, or face the real causes together through unity, coordination, and a shared plan. Many South Africans seem to have forgotten the support they received from the rest of the continent during the fight against apartheid. Africa stood with South Africa, and Nelson Mandela recognised this solidarity, often speaking about African unity and the importance of Pan-Africanism. It is sad to see that some leaders of these protests appear to have forgotten this history and the need to protect Mandela’s legacy.

In a world increasingly shaped by powerful global actors, fragmentation is not a neutral condition—it is a strategic disadvantage. The future of African development will depend not only on how nations respond to external pressures, but on whether they can resist turning against one another in the process.