₦airaland Forum

South Africa's Zulu king has raised eyebrows by using a highly derogatory term for foreigners and saying they must all leave the country during a much-hyped speech that was supposed to have been aimed at calming anti-migrant feelings in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Warning: This story contains language some people may find offensive
Misuzulu kaZwelithini was addressing his supporters at the place where 20,000 Zulus warriors defeated a British contingent of 1,800 soldiers 147 years ago beneath the rocky outcrop of Isandlwana hill.

The Battle of Isandlwana, fought during the Anglo-Zulu war, is something many Zulus wear like a badge of honour: they fought against a foreign army and won - the foreigners were cowed.

The ire of many of King Misuzulu's subjects is now directed not at British invaders but at migrants from neighbouring countries like Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe who have come to South Africa to work. According to official statistics, the country is home to about 2.4 million migrants, about 4% of the population.

The 51-year-old monarch did not advocate violence but said all "kwerekwere", an offensive word for African migrants, must pack their bags - even if they were in relationships with South Africans and had children with them.

"We must now sit down and discuss this because even if my nephew's father is a 'kwerekwere', the 'kwerekwere' must leave, only the child will remain," he said on Thursday to the delight of his audience - a response which prompted him to burst out laughing.
Many online have been quick to point out the irony of his remarks, considering the king's own mother was from Eswatini and one of his wives is also from the neighbouring kingdom.

But such xenophobic attitudes have long been an issue in South Africa, leading to deadly outbreaks of violence - and his comments echo those made by his late father Goodwill Zwelithini, who urged migrants in 2015 to "pack their belongings".

He later tried to back-pedal, claiming he was misquoted, but the country's human rights body found his comments "hurtful and harmful".

More than a decade on, xenophobia and anger directed at migrants remain a key political issue - with some believing foreigners are stealing jobs and benefiting from public services meant for South Africans.

The rate of unemployment in the country remains one of the highest in the world at around 33%.

This is something new opposition parties - like uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) led by former President Jacob Zuma, whose main support base is in KwaZulu-Natal - have latched on to with populist policies that support the expulsion of undocumented migrants.

This has led in recent years to the rise of vigilante anti-migrant groups, like Operation Dudula and March on March, which have gained notoriety for their demands that foreign nationals be removed from the country. "Dudula" means "to remove something by force" in the Zulu language.

Their latest campaign took place a few days before the king's speech and not long after the start of the academic year.

An angry group of protesters descended on a primary school in the KwaZulu-Natal port city of Durban, claiming that 90% of the pupils there were the children of migrants.

The heated demonstration forced the school to call parents to come and collect the students because of safety concerns - and the next day a large contingent of police was deployed to the gates of Addington Primary School.

The local authorities hit out at the organisers of the march, which was also supported by MK, and accused them of spreading misinformation.

"This has put a lot of people's lives at risk. It is a lie that 90% of learners are children of immigrants. The truth is that immigrants form 37% of the learner population," Mlu Mtshali, an education spokesperson for KwaZulu-Natal, told South Africa's Daily Maverick newspaper.

This prompted the education department to reveal that nationally, 253,618 foreign pupils are enrolled in South Africa's public schools - 1.8% of all students. Of these, 14,929 are at public schools in KwaZulu-Natal.

Commentators have also pointed out that in South Africa, all children have a legal right to basic education, irrespective of their nationality or status in the country.
Following the Addington Primary School protests and ahead of the Battle of Isandlwana commemoration, royal envoys hinted that King Misuzulu would address these concerns.

He has no formal political power, but a fifth of South Africa's population is Zulu and the monarchy remains hugely influential with a large budget funded by taxpayers.

The king also oversees a trust that owns and controls vast tracts of communal land in KwaZulu-Natal, which is supposed to be for the benefit local communities.

"We will speak to the 'kwerekweres' and tell them to leave. There is nobody who does not have a home to return to," the king said.

For Dr Vusumusi Sibanda, a human rights lawyer and expert on African diaspora issues, such words are "unfortunate" and "worrying" and encourage ordinary citizens to take the law into their own hands.

"The king is respected by [many people], including foreigners, and he's supposed to be that symbol," he told the BBC.

Lizette Lancaster, who works at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies think-tank, echoes this, telling me that the king's comments only served to "fuel anti-migrant sentiment and should be strongly condemned".

She also weighed in on the actions of vigilante groups, saying that while South African law protected activism, orchestrating vigilante activity "including incitement or actions against migrants, must be identified and dealt with".

The leader of March on March, Jacinta Ngobese Zuma, is now facing a public violence charge over the protests at Addington Primary School.

And in November, a court ordered Operation Dudula to stop blocking foreign nationals from accessing public health facilities and schools, saying it was illegal.
Another topic raised by the king that has the nation talking is his call to drop "Natal" from KwaZulu-Natal's name - again echoing a wish of his father.

"We need to remove this 'Natal'. This is KwaZulu, so I don't understand why we have this Natal," the king said.

Prior to 1994 and the end of South Africa's racist system of apartheid, the province now known as KwaZulu-Natal was split into two.

KwaZulu was classified as a "homeland", a semi-autonomous area reserved for ethnic Zulus, which existed within Natal province.

When South Africa ushered in democratic rule with Nelson Mandela elected president, the two were merged and the name conjoined.

Over the last three decades, many cities, towns and roads in South Africa have been renamed, replacing them with indigenous ones or calling them after heroes of the struggle against apartheid.

But for some commentators, the call to name the province simply KwaZulu is an unpalatable reminder of Zulu nationalism and its potential dangers.

In the years after Mandela's release from prison in 1990, political violence between his supporters and those of a Zulu nationalist party nearly derailed the process that led to the end of white-minority rule.

There are fears that renaming KwaZulu-Natal would create a kind of exceptionalism that could lead to more trouble in the ethnically diverse country which has 11 official languages.

Cultural expert Prof Musa Xulu is also quick to add that it would be wrong to regard KwaZulu-Natal as a Zulu province.

"In reality, it's a multicultural province," he told the BBC.

"[Re]naming it KwaZulu would be a distortion of history. There was never a time in history when this whole region… was a kingdom of the Zulus," he said.

Zulus "don't have the powers to simply push people around and say that the province should be known as KwaZulu", the academic added.

Until now King Misuzulu, on the throne since 2022, has mainly made the headlines with regard to the royal succession battle and his controversial divorce.

But now he seems to be following in his father's footsteps - and picking at scabs that never get a chance to heal in what is a politically charged environment.

The hardest thing I have ever faced in my life was burying my 11-year-old daughter.
It broke me in ways words can’t explain, and the sadness never stops.

obiekunie01:
INVEST US$20 BILLION

TO MAKE US$20 TRILLION IN10 YEARS!

But them no go tell you that one.
Na who then decieve them dey run street.

And what is wrong with that? they should not make money back?

Mama should be about Professor Soyinka's age, what would a 90year old doing all out by her self?

SportblitsNews:
🚨🇨🇩 DR Congo FA Slams Nigeria Over World Cup Eligibility Dispute.

FECOFA has hit back at the NFF after Nigeria petitioned FIFA over the eligibility of six DR Congo players, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe.

Calling Nigeria “bad losers,” FECOFA said: 🗣 “If you can’t win on the pitch, don’t try to win from the back door.”

The controversy has stirred online debate and keeps Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup hopes in the spotlight.

Read more: https://sportblits.com/sports-news/2026-wcq-dr-congo-fa-slams-nigeria-over-world-cup-eligibility-dispute/

Nigeria is within its rights

DR Congo is within their right to defend

FIFA is the only referee that matters

Social media outrage changes nothing

As of late 2025, the HoR’s constitutional review process includes 87 proposed constitutional-amendment bills spanning many themes: state & local government autonomy, devolution of powers, policing & security, electoral and judicial reforms, socio-economic rights, traditional institutions, citizenship and indigene/ethnic-identity, human rights, and more.
My source: The Nation Newspaper and Nigerian News Today

Among these, the following relate directly to Citizenship, Indigene-ship (Indigene Status), and Identity rights:
Indigene-ship for anyone who has lived long enough in your state - HB 2057

📌 Why it is extremely sensitive

Indigeneship in Nigeria is not just identity; it is tied to:

*Access to state jobs
*Scholarships
*Political appointments
*Traditional rulership qualifications
*Land rights
*Cultural belonging
*State benefits
*Representation in federal/state quotas
Giving someone “indigene rights” simply because they lived 10 years in a place can:
❗ Erase ancestral ties and cultural ownership
A Hausa person born and raised in Enugu or Kano does not automatically become Igbo or Yoruba. Same for the reverse. Indigene status is cultural, ancestral, and tied to the people who built, governed, and defended the land for centuries.
It’s not just residency or Citizenship, it’s heritage.
❗Undermine minority groups
Small ethnic groups (Ijaw, Berom, Tiv, Itsekiri, Nupe, Ibibio, etc.) could be politically outnumbered over time by migrants who settle in their land.
10 years is nothing.
A community that survived 500 years can lose political control in one generation.
❗ weaponize migration
Certain groups with large demographic numbers could “colonize” states by migrating en masse and later claiming indigeneship.
❗ cause cultural tension and political takeover
Imagine this scenario:
A state with 2 million natives
1.5 million settlers move in over 20 years
After 10 years they gain “indigene-ship”
They now vote, run for office, and control the local government

The indigenous people become strangers on their own land
This is not theoretical, it has happened in Plateau, Kaduna, the Middle Belt, Southern Kaduna, Warri, and other regions historically.

This law can worsen it.
I am raising my voice today regarding two troubling constitutional proposals before the Nigerian House of Representatives: the expansion of “indigene-ship” by residency and marriage, and the introduction of “citizenship by investment.”

While reforms are necessary, these particular clauses strike at the heart of identity, cultural continuity, and the survival of indigenous groups across Nigeria. Indigeneship is not a casual administrative label—it is a deeply historical and ancestral marker tied to heritage, land, cultural obligations, and community preservation. Granting it automatically after a few years of residence, or through marital ties, risks political domination of minority groups and could destabilize communities whose cultural existence relies on clear ancestral belonging.

Equally concerning is the idea of citizenship being granted through financial investment alone. In a country already battling weak institutions, porous borders, and complex ethnic dynamics, introducing a pay-to-enter citizenship system creates security vulnerabilities and undermines the meaning of nationhood.

Nationhood cannot be bought, and ancestral identity cannot be awarded through residency. Nigeria must protect the integrity of its peoples, cultures, and sovereignty. Any reform must be approached with caution, transparency, and respect for the nation’s unique and delicate multi-ethnic foundation.

jeff1993:
This is so disheartening..... RIP to the pilot

I'm sure, you just jump to comment, you didn't border to comprehend what
you were responding to

Slytiger:
Ekpa Simon Njoku, popularly known as Simon Ekpa competed for Nigeria in the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships, winning a silver medal in the tripple jump in Cameroon.

Simon however jettisoned athletic due to a knee injury.

Source: Greg Nwoko on Facebook.

Lies, that man never represent Nigeria, I went through all competition that year no Simeon Ekpa

Quest7777:
Hope they are not counting dialects as languages.

We need a single National Language as obtainable in most European countries. Maybe WaZoBia will suffice.

So what is English? or what are you saying?

agentNija:
Even Lere from Ekiti is claiming Lagosian! Same way one man from Iragbiji has enslaved the indigenous Lagosians for years.

Think of it this way: Lagos is the commercial heart of Yorubaland, much like Paris is to France. Before the British amalgamation of Nigeria, the Yoruba people, across what are now six Nigerian states, had a well-structured monarchical system. Each town or settlement was governed by an Oba (king), in council with chiefs and other key officials. Importantly, this wasn’t a dictatorship; the Oba’s authority was balanced by a council of chiefs who represented various segments of society, ensuring a form of consultative governance."

"Now, just as a French citizen from Marseille or Lyon doesn’t need permission to belong in Paris, a Yoruba person from Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ado-Ekiti, or Akure doesn’t need to justify their presence in Lagos. They are not outsiders, they are part of the same cultural, historical, and ancestral family. Yorubaland is one body, and Lagos is a vital organ within it."

"The Yoruba people are not guests in Lagos; Lagos is part of the Yoruba civilization. Our dialects may vary slightly, but our Oríkì, deities, traditions, and ancestral claims are deeply interconnected. So when we say 'Lagos belongs to the Yoruba,' we mean all Yoruba people, not just those whose immediate forebears were born on Lagos soil."

owobokiri:
While you arw at it, Remember to change Victoria Island to Remi Tinubu Wonderland ..
Wtf..

naaa...no need...na only developer names we are changing for now...

Levesor:
He is Lucky that is not Nigeria

Don't worry, he's still coming to play the Naija side

iwaeda:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBEHkBzZM5Y

Nigeria Under Tinubu Economy: Lady Shows What ShopRite Ilorin Looks Like:

Nigeria Under Tinubu Economy: Lady Shows What ShopRite Ilorin Looks Like: pic.twitter.com/h4cMYLMrjI

— Somto Okonkwo (@General_Somto) May 22, 2025

This account, Somto Okonkwo, clearly harbors deep resentment towards Nigeria. He hides under the guise of advocating for good governance, but it’s all a smokescreen. His posts are consistently negative—targeting Nigeria and Tinubu’s government—with not a single word of positivity.

He's not interested in building the country. He openly agitates for Biafra and is a hardcore Obidient. I’ve blocked his account on X because, frankly, he can't be trusted. His bitterness over Peter Obi’s loss has turned into a campaign of wishing harm upon Nigeria—and that’s unacceptable.

TouchNfollow:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/05/2027-umahi-incapable-of-delivering-seast-to-you-ebonyi-indigenes-tell-tinubu/

Is there another South-East I don’t know about?
Tinubu won the last election without a single vote from the region—so what’s all the fuss now?

RealityKings1:
Only God knows the truth
Don't be afraid to start again

There have been numerous distressing reports from Nigerians living in South Africa.*

Love800:
And the period you didn't spray, they will still come. So what whats the need!

Well, you're right, once the smell is gone, they come back..But that smell lasted for 2 weeks, I always respray every 3 weeks

Ikaeniyan0:
ifo LG is in Ogun state

This statement shows you know nothing about Yoruba people...They see all the states of the SW as one...

Believeintruth:
Until you guys get arrested for tribal incitement, you will learn. You guys don't know when to stop that ethnic cleansing you are preaching when it happens and the dust settles, they will come for you guys and nothing will stop the hangman's noose from tightening your necks.
My advice go and get a decent job to do and stop ethnic hatred.

Look at that, usual Igbo sentiment, arrested ko, answer simple questions, and stop gaslighting us here

Ofemannnu:
I am surprised to see 3 Yorubas on Twitter going against what that chairman did.
They were even stressing the point that it should be Yoruba and nothing else.
This is really bad and not the behavior of omoluabi but Igbos caused it.
I am sure if that student were Hausa or from other ethnic group other than Igbo,they wouldn't have gone against his utterances.
Yoruba for decades,have always had soft spot for the Igbos,a lot still have but Igbos themselves have eroded and continue to erode this affection by their utterances and actions.

With the advent of the internet,a lot of Yoruba now see the hate Igbos abhor in their minds and actions against Yoruba.

Some people carry politics on their heads like gala.The last election in which Igbos negated Yoruba in Yorubaland and also the SE really dealt a big blow to the soft spot between this 2 people.
To be candid,it was Igbos that continually break this soft spot with 'Yoruba must not be president' Lagos is no man's land' ' etc.
I hope something will correct it else it will get worse.

Wow, thank you for this, and I must admit, I feel quite ashamed. As a Yoruba man who recently joined the Ronu group here in London – many of us are new members due to Peter Obi and the Obedient movement – I've never had an issue with Igbo people. I actively supported and campaigned for Peter Obi in the last elections.

However, I now feel a great deal of hatred and anger. This stems from how some within the Obedient movement have begun treating our people simply because Peter Obi did not win the election.

I don't know if my heart will heal from this...I love my Igbo brothers and sisters, but enough now, the insults and name-calling have to stop; we are really tired.

EZENDIZUOGU:
I stay in Lagos pay my tax to Lagos state government , even when I'm not working for Lagos state government and still people are angry that i benefited from government incentives , some of them don't even pay Tax

No one has an issue with your residency, or whether you pay tax or not, the Lagos state government will provide for your safety, so u can work and play...But stay out of the sole benefits meant for their indigenous people, and stop contesting in their elections.

themanderon:
This is what the demonic party APC has caused to us Nigerians. Now everyone sees the world through through their tribal lens. I grew up in Lagos in the 80's and 90's where everyone saw themselves as one. In our schools then we had teachers of all tribes and I had friends from the igbo, Yoruba and the hausa tribes and even the ibibios, tivs and jukuns. We were all friends and saw ourselves as one but all that changed with Tinubu and his brand of tribal divide and rule kind of politics.
It's a pity he has taken it to the national level and it may prove disastrous to the unity of this nation on the long run.
That is why I said the pdp was far far better than this useless demonic bloodsucking party called APC.
Pdp stole but they United the nation, but the APC has divide and rule and one of their policies for controlling and conquering us as citizens.

Are you for real? Tinubu caused this? Not Peter Obi and his entourage? stop your lies

Retmis:
The owner of the school the boy is graduating from is a yorub.
The school will likely see increase in pupils n fees.
Life is give and take.

Grow up.

I said it, the truth hurt them, when they can't travel to South Africa, Italy, Germany, or China, they come to Yoruba land and start preaching inclusiveness, only in YorubaLand they practice inconclusivity

D00msDay:
U wey b nairaland Chairman of tribalism. 😂

That's so common among Igbo people, gaslighting, most posts of this person were so tribalist

Tflex01:
Reading through the comments. It's obvious the Yorubas have taken up the spirits of the Igbos and Obidients.

But, to be honest, should we blame them? No other tribe in our country will tolerate the disrespect, together with constant insults, that the Yorubas endure on their land.

Obaaderemi2:
the chairman is a Muslim too. Nigeria is too divided

No, Nigeria ain't divided, let's say the truth, will the Anambra government buy JAMB FORM for a Yoruba boy living in Anambra?

Yoruba people all over their land have been accommodating, but Peter Obi and the obidients are opening their eyes gradually.

The Igbo's and other tribes can have choices, but you talk down on the Yorubas in their land when they don't vote according to your desire.

Look, Nigeria is a country but can never be a Nation, so even as the Yorubas love their country, they will never through away their core identities.