₦airaland Forum

Calls are growing for ECOWAS to hold an ad hoc meeting regarding the treatment of African migrants in South Africa.
The systemic nature of these incidents and the level of government response provided by South African authorities.
It appears clearly that the South African government is behind all these fatal attacks. Police are not helping.
This is nothing but a state sponsored terrorism against foreigners.

Good idea, we expected such from ECOWAS and indeed most especially the AU but we all know the present crop of African leadership are brain dead. Individual economic sanctions by each and every African country is the way to go I reiterate besides, I hope you really didn't expect anything good from the kleptomaniac failures in the ANC who have been looking for scapegoats to hang their shame on ? Surprise surprise, julius Malema and Thabo Mbeki seem to be the only black South Africans with functional brains so far but then again, economic sanctions against those terrorists will be the perfect response

[quote author=panafrican post=139550057]Calls are growing for ECOWAS to hold an ad hoc meeting regarding the treatment of African migrants in South Africa.
The systemic nature of these incidents and the level of government response provided by South African authorities.
It appears clearly that the South African government is behind all these fatal attacks. Police are not helping.
This is nothing but a state sponsored terrorism against foreigners.


I thought they would organised a meeting to discuss the abduction and killing of Nigerians by marauding bandits of unknown description.🤷‍♂️
No one has been killed regarding the patriotic marches in South Africa.

Chauke:
I thought they would organised a meeting to discuss the abduction and killing of Nigerians by marauding bandits of unknown description.🤷‍♂️
No one has been killed regarding the patriotic marches in South Africa.

It is hard to wake up someone who fakes to be asleep. You can refuse to see that truth, but the clouds are accumulating over your heads out there in South Africa. They will be a payback.

Here is a list of some of the most brutal, fatal, or high-impact well-documented xenophobic incidents/attacks targeting African immigrants in South Africa since 2008 ,

Xenophobic violence in South Africa is recurrent but often occurs in waves rather than isolated "top 10" ranked events. Comprehensive databases like Xenowatch (University of the Witwatersrand) track hundreds of incidents involving deaths, assaults, looting, and displacement since the mid-1990s, with spikes causing dozens of deaths and massive property destruction.

"Brutality" here considers documented deaths (especially gruesome ones like burning or mob beatings), scale of violence/looting, media documentation (photos/videos), and impact (displacement, international attention). Many incidents involve mobs targeting shops owned by Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Somalis, etc., with beatings, stabbings, burnings, and arson. Exact rankings are subjective due to varying documentation; this draws from major reported waves and iconic cases. Note that some victims in broader unrest were South Africans mistaken for foreigners.

Major Waves and Incidents (2010–2025):

2015 Durban/Johannesburg Wave (esp. April): At least 7 killed (including foreigners from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, etc.), thousands displaced, widespread looting/burning of foreign-owned shops. Notable: Brutal stabbing murder of Mozambican Emmanuel Sithole in Alexandra Township on April 18, captured in graphic photos by journalist James Oatway (he was beaten with a wrench and stabbed in the heart).

2022 Diepsloot Attacks (April): Zimbabwean Elvis Nyathi beaten and burned alive by a vigilante mob (linked to Operation Dudula tensions) after failing to produce ID during door-to-door checks. Part of unrest with multiple deaths; highlighted vigilantism.

September 2019 Johannesburg Attacks: At least 12 killed (per police), hundreds of businesses looted/destroyed, mainly targeting Nigerians and other Africans. Sparked by rumors of drug dealing/crime; led to Nigerian repatriation efforts.

2015 Soweto/Gauteng Looting and Violence (January onward) : Foreign shops looted/burned; contributed to the broader deadly wave. Specific killings included stabbings and mob attacks.

Ongoing Somali Shop Attacks (e.g., 2010s incidents): Multiple cases of Somali traders killed, stoned, or shops attacked (e.g., 2013 stoning of Abdi Nasir Mahmoud Good; 2014 stoning death). Somalis frequently targeted in townships.

2020–2022 Operation Dudula-related Violence: Vigilante campaigns led to assaults, evictions, shop attacks in Soweto, Diepsloot, etc. Included beatings and threats; contributed to climate of fear and specific deaths like Nyathi's.

Brutal Killings (e.g., 2013): Mozambican Mido Macia dragged behind a police van (2013, though police involvement); various mob stabbings/beatings of Zimbabweans/Nigerians.

2017–2018 Spikes: Reports of Nigerians and others killed weekly in some periods; shop lootings and assaults in multiple townships.

Cape Flats/Eastern Cape Incidents (post-2010 echoes): Earlier patterns (e.g., 2000s burnings/shootings) continued sporadically with shop attacks and murders.

2024–2025 Incidents: Fewer large-scale deaths reported than prior peaks, but dozens of discrimination/violence cases per Xenowatch, with displacements and shop attacks amid political rhetoric. Recent 2026 tensions echo this pattern.

The deadliest single wave in the broader period remains 2008 : ~62 killed, including Ernesto Nhamuave burned alive in Ramaphosa settlement—iconic horrific images), which set the pattern for later violence


Sources/Context:
DW timeline, Human Rights Watch, Xenowatch reports, Reuters, BBC, Guardian photo essays, SA History.org. dw.com +3

Total deaths from xenophobic violence since 1994 exceed hundreds per monitors, with massive property loss.
gjia.georgetown.edu
For the most current or exhaustive data, check Xenowatch.ac.za. These events represent a serious ongoing human rights issue.

Why dont they focus on the murders and bandits in ECOWAS. I mean what is ECOWAS going to do other than say please stop.

andrewza:
Why dont they focus on the murders and bandits in ECOWAS. I mean what is ECOWAS going to do other than say please stop.

Nonsense.
Why doesn't the South African government focus on the systemic corruption of its own politicians instead of using foreigners as scapegoats? Before Nigerians, Ghanaians, and Zimbabweans moved in to build small businesses (like convenience stores, car washes, and used tire shops) why weren't South Africans operating businesses on the very land where these foreign-owned businesses now stand?

panafrican:
Nonsense.
Why doesn't the South African government focus on the systemic corruption of its own politicians instead of using foreigners as scapegoats? Before Nigerians, Ghanaians, and Zimbabweans moved in to build small businesses (like convenience stores, car washes, and used tire shops) why weren't South Africans operating businesses on the very land where these foreign-owned businesses now stand?

You clearly not understand.

The government is not the ones behind the anti illegal immigrants. This not a government run movement.

The issue is that corruption has led to a lot of the issues.how can some one from Ghana get asylum in South Africa unless there is corruption.

Many foreign owned businesses do things on the cheap and illegally it why local companies suffer

andrewza:
You clearly not understand.

The government is not the ones behind the anti illegal immigrants. This not a government run movement.

The issue is that corruption has led to a lot of the issues.how can some one from Ghana get asylum in South Africa unless there is corruption.

Many foreign owned businesses do things on the cheap and illegally it why local companies suffer

There is more corruption of government elites in South African than Ghana.
No deep-pocketed Indian billionaires bought any Ghanaian president, unlike the historic institutional manipulation that occurred in South Africa under your own leadership. Before pointing fingers at Ghana, South Africans must acknowledge that their own nation’s institutions have been systematically hollowed out by high-level political corruption.


Seeking asylum or migrating does not automatically equate to a country being inherently corrupt. Ghana's northeastern border with Burkina Faso faces severe security threats from regional terrorist insurgencies, which displacement experts note force innocent citizens to seek safety elsewhere. Disagreeing with a government or fleeing instability is a universal human reality, identical to how thousands of white South Africans applied for refugee status in Western nations like the United States after leaving South Africa.


Concrete Examples of Deep-Seated Corruption in South Africa
To talk about corruption, you must first look at the documented realities within South African governance:

The Gupta Family "State Capture" (2009–2018) :
Former President Jacob Zuma allowed the wealthy, Indian-born Gupta brothers (Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh) to heavily influence state affairs.
The state-sanctioned Zondo Commission of Inquiry (2018–2022) confirmed they pocketed billions of rands, influenced the hiring of cabinet ministers, and manipulated state-owned entities like Eskom and Transnet


The Strategic Firing of Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene (December 2015):
President Jacob Zuma abruptly dismissed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene for refusing to approve financially disastrous, corrupt state projects—including a multi-billion-dollar nuclear deal and bailouts for South African Airways. He was temporarily replaced by an inexperienced loyalist, Des van Rooyen, sending the South African economy into freefall.

The Nkandla Homestead Scandal (2009–2014):
An investigation by the Public Protector titled "Secure in Comfort" revealed that Jacob Zuma used millions of dollars in public tax funds intended for "security upgrades" to build personal luxury amenities—including a swimming pool, amphitheater, and cattle kraal—at his private Nkandla homestead. The Constitutional Court of South Africa later ruled that he breached his oath of office.

The Travelgate Scandal (2004–2006):
More than 14 African National Congress (ANC) Members of Parliament, alongside dozens of other lawmakers, were criminally convicted and fined after pleading guilty to illegally using parliamentary travel vouchers worth millions of rands for personal luxury car rentals and private travel.

The presence of Ghanaian nationals abroad is a reflection of global mobility and regional security crises, not a justification for xenophobic finger-pointing from a country still recovering from systemic kleptocracy.