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His Excellency
Cyril Ramaphosa
President of the Republic of South Africa
The Presidency
Union Buildings
Pretoria
South Africa

RE: A CALL TO DEFEND UBUNTU, LAW & ORDER, AND AFRICAN SOLIDARITY

Your Excellency,

We write to you with deep concern regarding the recent surge in xenophobic violence and hostility directed at African migrants and refugees in South Africa.

South Africa occupies a unique place in Africa’s collective conscience. Across the continent, African nations opened their borders, homes, schools, and training camps to South Africans fleeing apartheid. Countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe stood in solidarity with the South African people during some of the darkest periods of repression.

That history matters profoundly today.

Many of those now facing intimidation, violence, and exclusion in South Africa come from the very countries that once extended solidarity to South Africans in exile. This moment therefore calls not only for law enforcement and public order, but also for remembrance, moral leadership, and fidelity to the values that shaped the democratic South Africa the world came to admire.

Your Excellency, it is important to state clearly that the economic and social frustrations felt by many South Africans are real and legitimate. Unemployment, inequality, rising living costs, poor service delivery, and deepening uncertainty continue to place immense pressure on communities across the country, particularly on young people.

However, fellow Africans cannot become the scapegoats for structural challenges.

• The migrant worker is not responsible for inequality.
• The refugee child is not responsible for overcrowded schools.
• The informal trader from another African country is not responsible for corruption, unemployment, or failures in governance and public service delivery.

Redirecting public anger toward vulnerable communities will neither resolve the underlying crisis nor build a more stable and prosperous South Africa.

The deeper challenge remains the persistence of structural inequality, economic exclusion, and social injustice that continue to shape daily life for millions of South Africans. These pressures are further intensified by environmental degradation, climate-related disasters, and the unequal burden carried by communities already living in precarious conditions.

In several parts of South Africa, communities continue to face the consequences of pollution, failing infrastructure, and environmental stress linked to extractive industries and long-standing underinvestment in public welfare. These realities contribute to frustration and insecurity, but they must not be allowed to erode the principles of Ubuntu and Pan-African solidarity. South Africa’s Constitution stands as one of the most respected democratic frameworks in the world because it affirms dignity, equality, and human rights for all who live in the country. In this regard, moments such as these require principled and visible leadership that unites communities rather than allowing fear and misinformation to divide them.

We therefore respectfully call on your government to:

• Take firm and visible action against xenophobic violence, incitement, and hate speech;
• Strengthen the protection of all people living in South Africa, regardless of nationality or immigration status as defined by international law.
• Improve service delivery and expand economic opportunities in vulnerable communities;
• Promote fair, lawful, and humane migration governance;
• Address the root causes of inequality, exclusion, and youth unemployment;
• Ensure greater accountability for environmental harm and economic practices that deepen poverty and social instability.

Your Excellency, the values of Ubuntu teach us that our humanity is bound together. South Africa’s strength has never rested in division, but in its moral courage, resilience, and ability to inspire hope beyond its borders.

At a time when many parts of the world are increasingly turning toward fear, exclusion, and hostility toward migrants, South Africa has an opportunity to reaffirm a different path: one rooted in dignity, justice, solidarity, and African unity.

The choices made now will shape not only the future of South Africa, but also the message sent to a generation of Africans who still look to South Africa as a symbol of possibility and leadership on the continent.

We remain hopeful that South Africa will continue to uphold the values for which so many sacrificed, and that it will emerge from this moment stronger, more united, and firmly anchored in the spirit of Ubuntu.

Yours sincerely,

Signed by the following organisations 

• Greenpeace Africa,
• Allen +,
• Estahale,
• Care for Environment,
• Quest for Growth & Development Fund,
• ARCCEJ - African reserach Centre,
• Pastoralist Initiative Development,
• Gamndane Empowerment NPO,
• MJPE,
• YONECA Youth Network for climate action,
• Carolina Eco Green Economy,
• IWED Nigeria,
• Rent Control G,
• Eco SciGen,
• The Nurudeen report,
• Groundwork