Motlanthe Warns That Government's Failure to Act on Anti-Migrant Violence Is Breeding Anarchy

By Mpho Tumelo Modise | Editor-in-Chief, EZA News

Former President Kgalema Motlanthe has issued a pointed warning that the South African government’s failure to mount an effective response to recent anti-migrant protests is not merely a law enforcement failure – it is a governance failure that is normalising lawlessness and creating conditions for sustained anarchy.

Motlanthe’s intervention carries weight precisely because it comes from a figure whose relationship with the ANC and with post-apartheid governance is deep and undisputed. He is not an opposition voice; he is a voice from within the tradition of liberation politics, and his willingness to use the word “anarchy” in describing the current trajectory is a measure of how seriously he views the deterioration.

The anti-migrant protests that have flared in recent weeks reflect a complex intersection of economic pressure, xenophobia, and the political opportunism that tends to emerge when communities feel that legitimate grievances – unemployment, competition for scarce services, housing – are not being heard. The violence directed at foreign nationals is neither justified nor random. It is, in significant part, a displacement of frustrations whose underlying causes the state has been unable to adequately address.

For South Africa, the geopolitical stakes of this failure extend beyond domestic order. The country has invested considerable diplomatic capital in positioning itself as a pan-African leader, as a voice for continental integration, and as a host economy committed to the African Union’s vision of free movement and shared prosperity. Anti-migrant violence – and, more importantly, the government’s failure to condemn and contain it decisively – corrodes that positioning in ways that diplomatic statements cannot easily repair.

Several African nations with significant diaspora populations in South Africa are watching the situation closely. The AU, which has consistently called for the dignity of African nationals across the continent, has yet to issue a formal response. That restraint may not last if the violence continues and the government’s response remains insufficient.

Motlanthe’s intervention is a call to account. The question is whether those with the authority to act will hear it before the costs compound further.