Stop asking African migrants proof of their nationality, President Ramaphosa tells South Africans

Mr Ramaphosa’s broadcast was in response to xenophobic attacks targetted at Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and other African migrants in the rainbow nation.

Ahmed Oluwasanjo • June 7, 2026

President Cyril Ramaphosa [Credit: X]

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday warned South Africans against harassing people on the streets and demanding proof of their nationality, vowing crackdown on those behind raging xenophobic attacks in the country.

Mr Ramaphosa, in a broadcast on Sunday, said, “We will act against forces who are exploiting the concerns of our people about illegal immigration to further their own political, personal and criminal agendas.

“We ⁠will and must not allow groups to use the legitimate concerns of South Africans to destabilise our country through inciting lawlessness and violence.”

In a follow-up post on X on Sunday, Mr Ramaphosa said only authorised officials are allowed to enforcement immigration laws in the country, warning against harassing people and demanding proof of their nationality on the streets of South Africa.

“I must make it clear that only the authorised government officials may act against violations of the law, including violation of our immigration laws” Mr Ramaphosa said. “No other person is allowed, for example, to confront someone in the street to demand proof of nationality.”

However, some South African netizens opposed Mr Ramaphosa’s warning.

An X user, @Moyaprof said “Section 42 of the Criminal Act allows for citizens to arrest criminals. Illegal immigrnats are criminals that must be arrested. Any private person may arrest criminals who commits crimes. End of story.”

“This (one) does not understand the constitution and laws of South Africa…as by law any citizens has a right to arrest someone breaking the law,” @pushinM15 said.

Mr Ramaphosa’s broadcast was in response to xenophobic attacks targetted at Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and other African migrants in the rainbow nation.

The situation has led to some African countries evacuating their citizens. The Ghanaian government evacuated about 300 of its citizens, with many of them vowing never to return to South Africa again. The Nigerian government has also concluded plans to evacuate its nationals from the country amid non-stop xenophobic attacks.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.