Nigeria Evacuates 268 Citizens from South Africa Amid Rising Xenophobia

On a Thursday morning the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg signed off 268 passengers for a repatriation flight that landed in Lagos.
Those men and women had registered to leave South Africa, a country where anti‑migrant protest marches have become common amid an unemployment rate that tops 30%.

Nigeria already accounts for less than 10% of South Africa’s population, yet the media claims its citizens are blamed for systemic failures in health, education and policing.
Consul General Ninikanwa Okey‑Uche insists that the migrants remain scapegoated, calling for stronger action against those “propagating xenophobic attacks.”

The flight’s arrival in Lagos was a symbolic gesture amid calls for a 30 June deadline to remove undocumented migrants.
Ghana, Zimbabwe and Malawi switched out four days earlier, and South Africa is slated to hold local elections in November—where migration may become a campaign issue.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced several punitive measures: jailing employers who hire undocumented workers, establishing fast‑track courts for deportation, and creating a biometric database to prevent identity theft.
He cautioned South Africans not to take the law into their own hands amid rising tensions.

In the crowd at O.R. Tambo International Airport a Nigerian named Justin spoke with the BBC about his fear of xenophobic violence.
He recalled being taunted, assaulted in a taxi, and told that “you must leave this country,” underscoring the precariousness of migrant life in a volatile environment.

Meanwhile the police blamed a “mystery” for the killing of two Mozambican men, while Mozambican authorities indicated a higher death toll linked to xenophobia.
The deaths remain officially unaccounted for, and the need for clear policy and enforcement is evident.

Credit: Reuters