Afrophobia in South Africa: Looking Beyond the Symptoms

Over the past few weeks, several people have asked me the same question: What is happening in South Africa? Why has hostility toward African migrants become so intense? As someone who has spent years researching South Africa's political economy and recently completed another round of fieldwork there, I think the conversation is missing something important.

Let me be clear from the outset.

Every country has the right to regulate immigration, protect its borders, and enforce its laws. South Africa is no exception. No country can sustain uncontrolled migration or tolerate criminal activity, regardless of who is responsible. That is not the issue. The point is that South Africa's problems have increasingly been reduced to an immigration problem.

It was with a great passion and optimism that I came to study South African political economy. The interest is because South Africa was the last African country to free itself from colonialism and institutionalized racial oppression. Many of us, especially from Africa, believed that the new South Africa had the opportunity to learn from the successes and failures of other African countries. The first decade of democracy gave us reasons to be hopeful. The Constitution was admired around the world, democratic institutions were taking root, and there was a genuine commitment to building a more inclusive society. But somewhere along the way, that momentum slowed.

Today, South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. Unemployment is stubbornly high, especially among young people. Poverty persists despite decades of democratic rule. Land reform has made only limited progress, and corruption and state capture have weakened public confidence in government. While apartheid created racial inequality, the post-apartheid period has also produced widening inequality within the Black majority itself.

During my fieldwork last year, one message kept coming up, especially from young people. They are tired. They are frustrated. Many feel that the promise of democracy has not translated into meaningful economic opportunity. That frustration is real. What worries me is where it is being directed.

Instead of demanding accountability from political leaders who have presided over years of economic stagnation, corruption, and failed implementation, much of the public anger is increasingly aimed at African immigrants. The narrative has evolved over time. It began with claims that immigrants were taking their jobs. Then it became about pressure on hospitals, schools, and housing. Today, in some quarters, it has become a demand that Africans simply leave South Africa.

To me, this is where we need to pause. I do not believe Afrophobia is a disease. It is a symptom.

The deeper problem is South Africa's failure of economic transformation. For too many South Africans, political freedom has not been matched by economic opportunity. Empowerment has often benefited a relatively small elite while leaving millions outside the formal economy. When people lose hope that institutions will improve their lives, they naturally look for someone to blame. Immigrants become the most visible targets, even though they did not create the conditions that people are protesting against. This is why I think we have misunderstood the debate.

The central question is not whether South Africa has an immigration problem. It is whether South Africa has an economic and governance problem that has been reframed as an immigration problem. That distinction matters because the solutions are entirely different. If unemployment, weak entrepreneurship, state capture, poor service delivery, and slow economic transformation remain unaddressed, removing immigrants will not solve them. It may satisfy public anger for a while, but it will not create jobs, improve schools, restore electricity, reduce corruption, or build an inclusive economy.

In my view, Afrophobia has become a convenient outlet for frustrations rooted in much deeper structural failures. Until South Africa confronts those failures honestly, the anger will simply find another target.

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