“We Fought for Your Freedom, Don’t Kill Us Now”: Hichilema Condemns South Africa’s Xenophobia as Zambia Faces Election Violence
By Desire Tshuma
Lusaka/ Zambia – Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has issued a passionate condemnation of xenophobia and Afrophobia in South Africa, reminding South Africans that Zambia once paid a heavy price to help secure their liberation from apartheid.
Hichilema said Africans should not turn against one another over jobs, immigration or economic hardships, warning that violence against fellow Africans betrays the spirit of solidarity that helped bring down apartheid.
“South Africans do not have to kill fellow Africans to resolve labour-related issues,” Hichilema said.
His comments come at a time when South Africa is experiencing renewed anti-migrant tensions, with African migrants facing intimidation, attacks and displacement amid anger over unemployment, undocumented migration and competition for economic opportunities. Human Rights Watch has documented recent violent xenophobic attacks targeting African and Asian foreign nationals, while hundreds of migrants have reportedly fled areas affected by the unrest.
Hichilema invoked Zambia’s liberation-era history, recalling how Lusaka supported the African National Congress and Umkhonto weSizwe while apartheid South Africa regarded Zambia as a frontline state.
He said Zambia’s infrastructure was bombed by the apartheid regime because the country had opened its doors to liberation movements and stood firmly behind the struggle for freedom.
“Zambia paid a heavy price because we believed in African brotherhood and in the liberation of fellow Africans,” Hichilema said.
The Zambian leader argued that such sacrifices should not be forgotten now that South Africa is free, warning that legitimate concerns about employment and immigration cannot become an excuse for attacks on people from neighbouring African countries.
His remarks carry particular weight as Zambia itself emerged from a tense national election yesterday, with violence and attacks on electoral personnel disrupting the vote-counting process.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily suspended nationwide vote counting after reports of attacks on polling officials and the theft of ballot papers. The commission later lifted the suspension after authorities said the security situation had been brought under control, allowing counting to resume.
The first results were expected from around 10pm, although the Electoral Commission warned candidates against prematurely declaring themselves winners.
The election pits incumbent Hichilema against opposition challenger Brian Mundubile, the Tonse Alliance presidential candidate. Mundubile has challenged aspects of the electoral process and questioned the credibility of the vote following the disturbances.
The contrast has created an uncomfortable moment for the region: while Hichilema is urging South Africans to reject violence against fellow Africans, his own country is dealing with election-related violence that temporarily disrupted the democratic process.
Nevertheless, Hichilema has called for calm and urged Zambians to wait for official results rather than resorting to confrontation.
For Hichilema, the larger lesson remains one of African solidarity. The continent, he argues, cannot celebrate the liberation of South Africa while allowing economic frustrations to turn Africans against Africans.
The scars of the liberation struggle, he said, should serve as a reminder that African freedom was built on sacrifice, solidarity and the belief that the suffering of one African nation was the concern of all.
