By Charmaine Ndlela
ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, Xolani Khumalo, says South Africa is facing a severe illegal immigration crisis and accused government of failing to act decisively, leaving communities under pressure and public services overstretched.
In an exclusive interview with Inside Metros, Khumalo defended growing calls for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, arguing that the issue is about enforcing immigration laws rather than xenophobia.
“I can confirm that illegal immigration is a really serious problem in such a way that this illegal immigration contributes very vastly into the criminal activities that we are having in this country,” Khumalo said.
He argued that undocumented migrants are difficult to identify and trace when crimes are committed.
“You cannot have people in your country and not know who they are and not know how to find them should anything happen. Let’s say they commit a crime and the person doesn’t have fingerprints registered with us,” he said.
Khumalo dismissed measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during a national address on Sunday to strengthen border security and immigration controls, saying the government lacks an immediate plan to address the issue.
“Because the situation of illegal immigration is imminent. It’s now. So what is the imminent plan that he has? As a result, we as society have decided that we should ask them to leave. Those who are not documented and those who don’t belong here must just go. Every person has a home,” he said.
“We are overwhelmed as a country and we need to sort out our issues.”
With June 30 being promoted by anti-illegal immigration activists as a deadline for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa, Khumalo said citizens have a constitutional right to protest, provided demonstrations remain peaceful and lawful.
“People that are here illegally, number one, are in serious contravention of our Constitution. So they’re breaking the law. Actually, I do encourage people to protest, but they must do it the right way. They must not vandalise infrastructure and behave like South Africans because we are known to be very good and welcoming people,” he said.
Khumalo stressed that protests should not be used as a platform for violence, intimidation or destruction of property.
“I’ve attended a lot of marches and none of the marches that I’ve attended had violence or people looting and misbehaving because we put serious, strict rules in place and make sure that people don’t misbehave,” he said.
He also questioned government’s decision to deploy security forces ahead of possible demonstrations.
“The army should be deployed to protect South Africans and not be a force on standby to attack South Africans. There’s a thin line between being an army that defends its citizens and an army that attacks its citizens,” he said.
Khumalo distanced himself from questions about the funding of anti-illegal immigration campaigns.
“I don’t know who’s funding the campaign against illegal immigrants. But I believe all the stakeholders who are against illegal immigration are people who are very committed to this country,” he said.
He added that ActionSA and the March and March movement were not formally aligned, but said the party supports the movement because its objectives are consistent with ActionSA’s position on immigration.
South Africa has faced criticism from several countries and observers over anti-illegal immigration campaigns, with some describing them as xenophobic.
Khumalo rejected that characterisation.
“My understanding of xenophobia is when people are targeted or attacked simply because they come from another country. But here we are not violating or swearing at anyone. We are saying we cannot host you anymore and that’s not xenophobic,” he said.
As tensions rise ahead of June 30, Khumalo reiterated ActionSA’s support for stricter immigration enforcement and tighter border controls while calling for peaceful demonstrations.
“We want to know who is in our country, how many people are here and whether they are here legally. That is not xenophobia. That is law enforcement,” he said.
Photos: Eddie Mtsweni
INSIDE METROS
