The Consortium of Civil Society Organisations for Good Governance and Constitutionalism is concerned over disturbing videos, images, and reports emerging from South Africa involving members associated with the Dudula movement targeting fellow Africans living, working, and conducting business in South Africa.
Acting Consortium Spokesperson and CPRA Executive-Director Clifton Chifuwe stated that the scenes of intimidation, harassment, and public humiliation directed at fellow black Africans are troubling and offend the spirit of African solidarity, Pan-Africanism, and human dignity.
Chifuwe noted that equally concerning is the apparent inadequate response by the South African authorities in decisively addressing these acts and assuring the safety of all persons within their borders.
He reminded the Government and people of South Africa that their own Constitution is clear on the protection of human dignity and freedom from degrading treatment.
Chifuwe highlighted that Section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides that “Everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected.”
He pointed out that Section 12(1)(e) further guarantees that everyone has the right to freedom and security of the person, including the right not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman, or degrading way.
Chifuwe underscored that these constitutional guarantees apply to all persons within South Africa’s borders, regardless of nationality, race, immigration status, or economic standing.
He emphasised that no group of private citizens, no matter their grievances, has any legal or moral authority to subject fellow human beings to humiliation, intimidation, mob justice, or degrading treatment under the guise of protecting jobs or communities.
Chifuwe remarked that South Africa’s liberation was not achieved in isolation as many African nations, including Zambia and Zimbabwe, stood firmly with the people of South Africa during the darkest years of apartheid.
He observed that governments, communities, and people opened their borders, provided sanctuary to South African freedom fighters, and bore significant political, economic, and security costs in support of that noble struggle.
Chifuwe lamented that it is therefore painful to witness fellow Africans, whose nations once stood shoulder to shoulder with South Africa, now becoming targets of hostility, discrimination, and violence.
He raised concerns that vulnerable black African migrants appear to be singled out while others are left untouched.
Chifuwe further asserted that where any foreign national is suspected of violating immigration laws, labour laws, or any other law of South Africa, such matters must be handled strictly in accordance with the law by competent state institutions including the police, immigration authorities, labour inspectors, and the courts.
He stressed that enforcement of the law cannot be outsourced to angry mobs, vigilante groups, or xenophobic citizens whose complaint appears to be that foreign nationals are willing to work harder, longer, and under difficult conditions to earn a living.
Chifuwe clarified that economic frustrations can never justify lawlessness, ethnic profiling, or collective punishment.
He explained that the African Continental Free Trade Area represents one of the greatest aspirations of our continent: an Africa where citizens can trade, work, invest, and interact freely across borders in the spirit of shared prosperity.
Chifuwe warned that actions promoting xenophobia, intimidation, and exclusion undermine not only South Africa’s standing in Africa but also the broader continental vision of integration and economic cooperation.
He reminded South Africa that African citizens living, working, and investing there—including lorry drivers, traders, professionals, and families—deserve the same dignity, security, and protection that South African nationals receive in many other African countries.
Chifuwe affirmed that no African should live in fear simply because of their nationality.
He announced that civil society shall formally deliver a protest letter to the South African Embassy in Lusaka demanding urgent diplomatic engagement and concrete assurances regarding the protection of African migrants in South Africa.
Chifuwe also called upon the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, and governments across the region to urgently engage this matter before it escalates further.
He cautioned that should this hostility and failure of state protection continue, South Africa must appreciate that public anger across the continent may inevitably trigger lawful retaliatory civic actions in other countries against South African commercial and diplomatic interests.
Chifuwe declared that civil society in Zambia is prepared to organise peaceful and lawful protests against South African business interests and investments, and to work with like-minded organisations across the region to mount coordinated, lawful pressure until African nationals in South Africa are treated with dignity, equality, and security.
He urged the South African Government to act firmly, uphold the rule of law, and ensure that every person within its borders is treated with dignity, equality, and humanity.
Chifuwe stressed that the future of African unity depends not merely on treaties and speeches, but on how we treat one another in moments such as these.