{"id":4530,"date":"2026-05-28T15:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=4530"},"modified":"2026-05-28T15:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:33:16","slug":"lamola-calls-for-law-not-vigilantism-in-immigration-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=4530","title":{"rendered":"Lamola calls for law, not vigilantism, in immigration debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"textFreeArticle\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/iframe.iono.fm\/e\/1680565?layout=modern\" width=\"100%\" height=\"170\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>South Africa\u2019s relations with the rest of the continent are under pressure after renewed allegations of xenophobic intimidation and violence against African migrants.<\/p>\n<p>Ghana now wants the matter debated at the African Union next month, while Minister Ronald Lamola says some of the diplomatic pressure could be coordinated to undermine South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<\/p>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Ghana asks AU to probe xenophobic attacks in SA<\/div>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">SA risks pariah status over xenophobic attacks<\/div>\n<p>But with the country also facing strained relations with the United States, defending its position on Gaza and preparing to chair SADC (Southern African Development Community), is our country\u2019s foreign policy delivering influence or is it creating isolation?<\/p>\n<p>Minister, a very warm welcome, and let me start with this, do we have a worsening xenophobia problem in your opinion?<\/p>\n<p><strong>RONALD LAMOLA: <\/strong>Thank you very much, Jeremy, and to all the listeners. No, we don\u2019t, because, as you are aware, most South Africans live and share with foreign nationals, particularly of African descent, in a number of services in the country, including in the economy.<\/p>\n<p>But we do have those isolated incidents that do impede on the human rights character of our country as a constitutional democracy.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>That\u2019s why we have called for all the groups that are engaged in these activities to allow law enforcement agencies to do their job as per the Constitution and as per regulations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We know that there are challenges, and that\u2019s why the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] has inaugurated the Border Management Authority (BMA), has announced the appointment of a process to appoint about 10 000 labour inspectors to deal with the issues of illegal immigration.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Minister, the optics, though, don\u2019t look good. Ghana, for instance, wants this debated at the African Union. That is damaging, surely, for South Africa\u2019s standing in the rest of the continent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>RONALD LAMOLA: <\/strong>Yeah, indeed, Jeremy. But we should also look into it from another angle that migration has got various dimensions, and one of them is economic, and one of [them] is peace and stability and so forth.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>So we\u2019ll need to broaden that debate not only to deal with the situation in South Africa.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We are one of the highest receiving countries or host of African migrants in the continent, including in the world. So our situation becomes a different one.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why that debate will be broadened to also deal with the pull and push factors, the issues related to first country of origin, the issue of first country of safety.<\/p>\n<p>In that way, the debate and the discussion will be comprehensive and constructive to respond to the challenges that the continent is facing, including issues of regional and economic integration, economic growth and job creation in the continent.<\/p>\n<p>That becomes very relevant for all of us to find an economy that is growing across the continent and jobs that are created in many parts of the continent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Minister, you say citizens must not enforce immigration law, and obviously that is understandable, but why has government allowed the vacuum in which vigilante groups are now operating?<\/p>\n<p><strong>RONALD LAMOLA: <\/strong>As you are aware, Jeremy, we have not allowed any vacuum. That\u2019s why the president inaugurated the BMA. The BMA has in the past, since 2023, [deported] about 500 000 illegal immigrants out of the country. So that has been work that the BMA has been doing.<\/p>\n<p>But also, a number of South African companies are big investors in many African countries where they grow the economies of those African countries.<\/p>\n<p>They also create jobs and contribute to the economies, to the job creation of those countries. So government has been proactive, and we have also been proactive to look for investment destinations for all these companies in the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Listen\/read:<\/p>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Xenophobic rhetoric risks escalating into organised violence<\/div>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">SA moves to quell fallout from anti-immigrant protests<\/div>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Nigeria rebukes SA over attacks against its citizens<\/div>\n<p>We have also been proactive in finding peace and stability, as you are aware, in the eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). We are currently in South Sudan.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We continue to do so to support peace and stability in Mozambique, because we understand that without peace and stability, there will be no economic growth, and without economic growth and job creation, it means we will continue to be the highest receiving country of illegal immigration.<\/p>\n<p>So all these dimensions have to be factored in, and we have to deal with it in that context.<\/p>\n<p>It is also in that regard that our president, as the pandemic preparedness champion, continued to participate, he participated in supporting the work of the African Union against Covid-19. He is also again now supporting the process against Ebola.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<\/p>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Ebola crisis in Congo draws $500m in global pledges<\/div>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Congo\u2019s Ebola outbreak is \u2018outpacing\u2019 response, WHO says<\/div>\n<p>That\u2019s why we\u2019ve announced the $5 million to support these efforts against Ebola. So this issue has got different dimensions, and we have to deal with the issues that are the root causes of this challenge of migration.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>But, Minister, the bottom line here is that African migrants, in spite of the work that you tell me that you\u2019re doing, still feel unsafe here, and that is going to be an enduring problem unless efforts are accelerated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RONALD LAMOLA: <\/strong>Yes, indeed, and that\u2019s why the president has announced the process to appoint about 10 000 labour inspectors for the police, and also for Home Affairs, the immigration officers, and also to support efforts to improve technologies in the port of entry \u2014 various projects for a one-stop border post in all the border posts, the Lebombo border post, the Beitbridge border post, and the ones related to Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho.<\/p>\n<p>So there are huge investment upgrades to respond to that, and that is an acceleration. It\u2019s a public-private partnership.<\/p>\n<p>So there is indeed work, Jeremy \u2013 it\u2019s not enough \u2013 but there is work that is being accelerated to respond and handle this matter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Minister, you\u2019ve suggested that some of the diplomatic pressure is coordinated to undermine South Africa. What do you mean by that? And what evidence do you have?<\/p>\n<p><strong>RONALD LAMOLA: <\/strong>You can see, Jeremy, the fake news videos, some of them that are clearly a lie or fake, [that] never happened in the streets of South Africa that are being circulated in some of the cities across the continent, and some of it [is] even being circulated by officials.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This has really impacted negatively [on] the standing of South Africa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There have been some of them that are correct. Like the ones you have referred to, where vigilante groups assault someone, they ask him about [his] passport and all that.<\/p>\n<p>That is factual, some of them. But there have been those that are fake news of showing that someone has been murdered.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<\/p>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Everyone in South Africa must respect and uphold our laws<\/div>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">South Africans are far less tolerant of migrants than before<\/div>\n<p>As a result, in Ghana, they believe that two Ghanaians were killed during this wave of protests. We have clarified that there were no Ghanaians that has been murdered or killed.<\/p>\n<p>In Nigeria, they also believe that there were two Nigerians who were murdered. We have also clarified that there were no Nigerians who were murdered.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>So the fanning of fake news has been a huge narrative driver across the continent, but also within our own resident diplomats.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There were those who were instigating some kind of encroachment into our domestic matters and fortunately the majority of African diplomats in South Africa have stood together and said, we understand this matter, we believe that the South African government has got the capacity to handle it and deal with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Minister, a final question to you. Taken together, the xenophobia accusations, ongoing tension with the United States and regional instability, let me ask you bluntly, is South Africa still a trusted diplomatic leader?<\/p>\n<p><strong>RONALD LAMOLA: <\/strong>It is, Jeremy. But as you are aware, our positions with regard to Israel and other progressive positions across the globe do attract those who want to erode the standing of South Africa as a human rights and a diplomatic, progressive, Pan-Africanist country.<\/p>\n<p>What better way to do it than to attack the domestic base. That\u2019s why you see the fake news that is being spread and that everyone knows it\u2019s a lie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Minister Ronald Lamola, Minister of International Relations, thank you very much indeed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#Lamola #calls #law #vigilantism #immigration #debate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here. JEREMY MAGGS: South Africa\u2019s relations with the rest of the continent are under pressure after renewed allegations of xenophobic intimidation&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1015,3128,1158,6914,3734,6915],"class_list":["post-4530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-calls","tag-debate","tag-immigration","tag-lamola","tag-law","tag-vigilantism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}