Story perspectives

Xenophobic Attacks Kill Ten Foreigners; Leaders Condemn, Question WHO Figures

6/17/2026

Summary

Officials Condemn Violence

South Africa saw xenophobic attacks that killed five Ethiopians and five Mozambicans.
Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, President Cyril Ramaphosa, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus and ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula condemned the attacks.
The same officials urged South Africans to reject vigilantism.
Mozambique said 714 citizens returned home after South Africa provided humanitarian aid.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation called WHO’s death figures inaccurate, attributing Ethiopian deaths to organized crime.

Summary

MTN Aids Nigerians

Standard Bank Group monitors immigrant unrest that has caused over 7,400 undocumented migrant arrests and over 40,000 detentions this year.
MTN Group sent vice-president Ebenezer Asante to Ghana to meet ministers and give SIM cards, data and grants to 1,350 Nigerians repatriated from South Africa.
Salon owner Princess Adjei in Durban lost 50,000 rand after looting, forcing her family to join 200 migrants outside the Department of Home Affairs.

History

Historical Context

On 12 May 2008, xenophobic riots erupted in Alexandra, Johannesburg, when local residents attacked migrants from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The violence spread to Durban and Cape Town, killing 62 people and prompting President Thabo Mbeki to deploy armed forces on 21 May, the first post-apartheid troop deployment. The 2008 outbreak set a pattern of attacks on foreign nationals, continuing the cycle of xenophobic violence.

1 of 3

Officials Condemn Violence

South Africa saw xenophobic attacks that killed five Ethiopians and five Mozambicans.
Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, President Cyril Ramaphosa, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus and ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula condemned the attacks.
The same officials urged South Africans to reject vigilantism.
Mozambique said 714 citizens returned home after South Africa provided humanitarian aid.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation called WHO’s death figures inaccurate, attributing Ethiopian deaths to organized crime.

1 / 3