News24 | Fact-finding mission to SA over alleged targeting of Nigerian nationals delayed

Eswatini MP Marwick Khumalo during the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Cape Town this week.

Phando Jikelo/Parliament of RSA

• South Africa will host a parliamentary delegation in January to discuss acts of violence targeting foreign nationals.
• A regional task team was established after a meeting in August saw verbal clashes between SA and Nigeria over the word “xenophobia”.
• The meeting has been delayed as the task team’s chairperson, Eswatini MP Marwick Khumalo, said “the timing was not right” at the moment.
• For more political news, visit News24 Politics.

In early 2027, South Africa will play host to a six-country continental task team for a fact-finding mission to unpack whether Nigerian nationals were specifically targeted during anti-migrant protests earlier this year.

A meeting, according to Eswatini MP Marwick Khumalo, had already been scheduled but was delayed due to the upcoming local government elections and South Africa’s hosting of the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.

Khumalo and his country will chair the six-country group, comprising the Africa branch delegates of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

Khumalo spoke to News24 on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, taking place in Cape Town between 13 and 19 September.

“Regrettably, the timing is not right,” said Khumalo.

The task team emerged after verbal clashes between Nigerian and South African MPs during a CPA meeting in August in Malawi. This came after South Africa objected to the use of “xenophobia” to describe anti-migrant protests by vigilante groups, according to Malawian media reports.

Alongside Eswatini, the task team comprises South Africa, Nigeria, The Gambia, Mauritius and Malawi.

“We will be talking to all the parties,” said Khumalo, on the sidelines of the CPA Africa branch meeting.

The reason for the task team coming to South Africa, Khumalo said, was “precisely because we don’t want to base our deductions or conclusions on assumptions”.

Khumalo said:

We have decided, let’s just get the facts, not what we see or what we hear.

In the lead-up to the CPA, the Nigerian parliament announced it would boycott visits to South Africa in protest of the anti-migrant protests.

READ | Nigeria bans lawmakers from visiting South Africa over attacks

Nigeria has been a vocal critic of the violence associated with the anti-migrant protests, and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has been appointed as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s special envoy to the country to address concerns around migration and other topics between Abuja and Pretoria.

Nigeria’s absence was highlighted during Wednesday morning’s meeting of the CPA Africa branch. Following a roll call of countries, when Nigeria’s name was called out, and no response was given, there were loud murmurs from the floor.

Kenyan President William Ruto called on authorities to shut down small-scale businesses operated by foreign traders, and the country’s trade minister said the order applied to foreign nationals operating without work permits.