Thomas Mapfumo lashes out at President Ramaphosa over xenophobia in SA, calls for urgent action to save lives

Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa got into office with a lot of promise. As he got into office, he was young and he sounded like he was bringing in hope to restore order and sanity in South Africa.

Unfortunately, he became a big joke about government leadership. He has crossed too many lines on violations of human rights. Sadly, no global leader has lifted a finger to condemn the brutal way with which he incites violence and deploys ordinary citizens to hunt down foreigners to k!ll or burn them alive.

The world has seen a gory South African image where pregnant women are skinned alive, young men are laced with burning tires as old folks suffer broken bones or suffocation.

To Ramaphosa, the now President of a once great and powerful South Africa, murdering foreigners is a way to sanitize incompetence.

What Ramaphosa forgets is that wild acts of xenophobia expose the weaknesses of regional bodies like SADC and the Africa Union. These two organizations are as useless as empty bus shells because they gobble lots of money but hardly do anything to save lives in Africa.

It’s all talk and no action. This is the very reason African leaders are mainly considered foolish and incompetent. They do not respect life or safety among fellow African citizens. That is still the same reason China has started colonizing Africa.

African lives are considered valueless by African leaders. The world laughs at Africa because of poor thinking African leaders.

It’s so heart-wrenching because this is a Black on Black situation. The forgetful South Africans have seen foreigners as the true causes of their unemployment, poverty and suffering.

Today the majority of South Africans suffer a lot through their resistance to follow education channels to free their minds.

By refusing to seek education and skills training, they leave the job markets open for educated and competent foreigners that corporations go for to take care of business.

As a result of a weak government policy, the ordinary black South African in the ghetto continues to suffer and lives in shacks. The economy is not good for the uneducated, illiterate and poor South African who must go to bed thinking of where to get the next meal.

Instead of addressing real issues that are affecting South Africans, the corrupt Cyril Ramaphose believes that making South Africans turn against foreigners through wanton acts of xenophobia could be the only way to distract them.

When angry and hungry, South Africans get violent and they go after foreigners. They burn buildings and become lawless. Police look the other way and the chaos is frightening.

The world cannot afford to ignore the human cost of lawlessness. In South Africa today, a troubling pattern of violence, insecurity, and disregard for basic human dignity is unfolding.

Reports of people—particularly foreigners—being attacked, robbed, assaulted, and even k!lled point to a breakdown in the rule of law that demands urgent global attention.

No government can claim legitimacy while failing to protect those within its borders. Weak domestic policies, ineffective policing, and a lack of accountability have created an environment where fear replaces safety and impunity replaces justice.

Homes are lost, livelihoods destroyed, and lives cut short—not by isolated incidents, but by a persistent climate of disorder.

This is not just a national issue; it is a human rights concern. The international community, civil society organizations, and regional partners must speak clearly: lawlessness is unacceptable. Silence only deepens the suffering of victims and emboldens those who perpetrate violence.

Condemning this situation is not about politics, it is about principle. Every person, regardless of origin, deserves security, dignity, and protection under the law.

Restoring order, rebuilding trust in institutions, and ensuring accountability are not optional—they are the foundation of any just society.

The time to act, to speak, and to stand for human dignity is now. It starts with President Cyril Ramaphosa. To live a great legacy, he needs to respect the life of the Black African.