The Presidency has expressed concern that South Africa is facing a coordinated campaign aimed at isolating it from the rest of the continent following tensions over anti-illegal immigration protests.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya made the remarks during a media briefing at the Union Buildings on Wednesday.
He said South Africa remained committed to working with its African partners to build a stronger and more prosperous continent, despite growing criticism of its immigration stance.
The comments come as the voluntary repatriation of undocumented migrants continues, drawing backlash from some quarters across Africa.
Magwenya said that, over the past two months, the government had observed a sustained campaign seeking to isolate South Africa from the continent under the guise of protesting against the recent wave of anti-illegal immigration demonstrations.
According to Magwenya, the campaign had attempted to create the impression that South Africa had become a pariah state that should be referred to international courts.
“This is despite numerous official government communications condemning acts of vigilantism against foreign nationals, asserting the state’s primary role in enforcing immigration laws, and reaffirming its commitment to the supremacy of the Constitution,” he said.
He said the government was particularly concerned about what it described as the spread of false information by a diplomatic representative who had become central to the campaign.
“Even ordinary diplomatic exchanges over meetings have been deliberately misrepresented to create the impression that South Africa is being isolated,” Magwenya said.
He said the government rejected and cautioned against the dissemination of false information about South Africa.
“We further assert that any campaign that seeks to misrepresent what South Africa is and what it represents will be rejected with the utmost contempt that it deserves,” he said.
“Recent evidence shows that this false campaign, concerning as it is, is faltering. South Africa is not isolated.”
Magwenya said South Africa remained firmly engaged with the African continent and the rest of the world.
Asked whether he was referring to the Ghanaian government, Magwenya confirmed that this was the case.
“The answer to your first question is yes. Concerns have been directly expressed to the Ghanaian High Commissioner by our Department of International Relations and Cooperation,” he said.
“Equally, the ministers, particularly (Justice) Minister (Mmamoloko) Kubayi, chairing the IMC, have called on the High Commissioner to make an effort to verify the information he puts out by engaging with the relevant authorities. So the answer is yes,” he added.
The only substantive edit was to the final quote, where I corrected the grammar (“the ministers… have called”) and smoothed the wording while preserving the meaning. If you’re quoting directly from the briefing, however, it should remain exactly as spoken.
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