Cyril Ramaphosa has promised arrests and prosecutions after Julius Malema accused police of allowing attacks against African migrants to happen unchecked. The post Ramaphosa vows arrests as Malema accuses police of standing by during attacks on African migrants appeared first on Nehanda Radio .
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised further arrests and prosecutions over violence targeting African foreign nationals after EFF leader Julius Malema accused police of allowing attacks to happen in their presence.
Ramaphosa told Parliament on Tuesday that police and security agencies were collecting evidence against those suspected of instigating and carrying out violent anti-migrant actions.
He said several suspects had already been arrested and that people identified as leaders of the campaigns were of “direct interest” to investigators.
Malema challenged Ramaphosa during an oral question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, asking why publicly identifiable organisers had not been prosecuted.
“The level of violence perpetrated against African foreign nationals in this country over the past few months has a face,” Malema said.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema (Picture via X – Economic Freedom Fighters)
He argued that perpetrators had attacked immigrants in front of police officers without being detained, creating the impression that the violence was sanctioned or tolerated by the State.
Malema also said two people he associated with the anti-migrant campaigns had previously met Ramaphosa.
“You should have locked them up that day when they came to meet you,” the EFF leader said.
His remarks appeared to refer to anti-migrant activists Ngizwe Mchunu and Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, who met Ramaphosa in June as part of the Insizwa Nobunsizwa movement.
Ramaphosa said the alleged instigators were being investigated by the police and other components of South Africa’s security establishment.
“The police have informed us, and all security apparatus have informed us, that they are following all that up,” he said.
Investigators were gathering reports and evidence needed to support arrests and prosecutions, he added.
Ramaphosa said authorities would pay particular attention to cases in which foreign nationals had been injured or killed.
“There will be arrests, and there will be charges that will be prepared against those who have done so,” he said.
The president stressed that responsibility for completing the investigations and preparing prosecutions rested with the police and National Prosecuting Authority.
He did not identify the individuals under investigation or provide a timetable for the promised arrests.
More than 900 people were arrested during anti-migrant protests across South Africa on July 1, although the alleged offences ranged from public violence and robbery to immigration violations and harbouring undocumented migrants.
Malema questioned what the government was doing to repair South Africa’s reputation and credibility as a Pan-African voice.
The country has faced criticism from neighbouring governments and African rights organisations following attacks, intimidation and campaigns preventing foreign nationals from accessing businesses and public services.
Ramaphosa insisted that South Africa remained “a respected member of the African community of nations and a principled Pan-African actor”.
He said his government had publicly rejected xenophobia, Afrophobia, vigilantism and discrimination against people from other countries.
South Africa’s migration policy would continue to be based on the rule of law and respect for human dignity, he added, while warning citizens against conducting unlawful immigration checks or targeting suspected undocumented migrants themselves.
Ramaphosa said South Africa voluntarily placed the issue before regional leaders during the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit hosted in eThekwini.
“This we did without being asked either to account or to explain,” he said.
According to Ramaphosa, the summit called for coordinated regional dialogue addressing the factors driving migration and the responsibilities shared by affected countries.
He said South Africa was working with SADC, the African Union and neighbouring states on immigration, governance and regional integration.
The president maintained that strengthening border management and enforcing immigration law must remain the responsibility of government institutions rather than vigilante organisations.
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