The opening match of Fifa World Cup 2026 between Mexico and South Africa was a 2-0 blow to former Azanians on Thursday June 11.
This was an equivalent of the America against Africa. You would expect the support to be split along the inhabitants of the two continents. T
o many bloggers and social media goons from Africa, it was a celebration of Africa’s loss to Mexico in Mexico City.
The league comes at the peak of South Africa’s xenophobia attacks against immigrant labourers in their country. A looming deadline of June 30 was declared for everyone to leave.
In the past years, this was undocumented immigrants, not anymore. The wave is sweeping documented and undocumented immigrants, including asylum seekers, those with citizenship and everyone else.
The killing and physical torture of mainly immigrants has reached the summit. None South African nationalities spared from the hostilities are the nearest permanent neighbours from Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland but not even Zimbabwe or Mozambique.
In all these countries, South Africa shares economic wealth, culture, languages and traditional norms. Exclusively, not the case with other African nationals: Nigerians, Somalians, Senegalese, Ugandans or Ghanaians.
Black natives believe the frustration to get post-apartheid prosperity is blamed on foreigners. And foreigners are not necessarily nationals of other countries in Europe, America or Australia, but those from other African countries far from their neighbours.
The surge of migration from Nigeria, Somalia, other West, East or North African countries, including Uganda, following the all-race post-election era 1994, has left many lives in limbo. Evacuations of hundreds of Ghanaians, Malawians, and Nigerians on buses and planes are seen.
Private families and individuals are leaving in small groups, with many still clearing customs duties.
You’re between going back to one’s country of origin and protecting a job, business or lifestyle in a place where a mere walk out of a residence cannot guarantees one’s life later that day.
From harassment in public transport, schools, to work places and shopping areas. Sarcastic tags like Mugangawane, Makwerekwere referring to foreign African immigrants are forms of identity. Not spared are the intermarried natives and migrants.
The vibrant youthful population orchestrating the violence today, call them the SA bazukulus (grandchildren) born after the 1994 election, don’t want to know the role other countries played in the liberation of their country because they were not there by then.
Where does the current impasse leave this population?
Julius Sello Malema, founder and leader of a prominent opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters , a communist and black nationalist political party since July 2013, recently asked.
‘Show me the 300 jobs you created after 300 Ghanaians left!’ It remains to be seen whether the departure of the last immigrant from another African country will create jobs for the natives and reduce unemployment soaring above 30 percent.
For some who have lived and worked in Suid Afrika, Umzansi Afrika, Afrika Borwa, Africa Shipembe (local names used to describe it), we know that the negative work culture of its majority black population, this xenophobia is nothing outside greed and desire to own free property that has not been worked for owned by hard working immigrants.
It will not be different from the past expectations that many Blacks had when claiming independence from the White rule in 1994 under late President Madiba Nelson Mandela.
Like Julius Malema asked for the new 300 jobs, the White population used to tease the Government of National Unity (GNU) of President Mandela.
‘The campaign had promised building a million homes in five years, but it is building five homes in a million years.
Until Black South Africans and the world learn that there is no free wealth but it takes hard work and sacrifice, the departure of other African immigrants from any country in Africa has never wholly improved the economy and livelihood of natives.
It also remains unpredictable if other countries are going to pay back South Africa with an equal pay cheque.