In a televised reaction to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent address to the nation, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Member of Parliament Sam Matiase challenged the timing and substance of the President’s statements on immigration, urging immediate accountability within the cabinet.
Matiase opened by asking why the President chose to address the immigration crisis “only now,” noting that South Africans have endured weeks, months, and even years of violent xenophobic and afrophobic attacks with little substantive government intervention. He suggested that Ramaphosa’s address came only after significant pressure from African continental counterparts, who reportedly reminded the President of the continent’s historical role in South Africa’s liberation struggle.
“The president has offered no solution whatsoever to the crisis of immigration,” Matiase stated. “South Africans will be in a rightful position to ask this question: Why only now?”
The EFF spokesperson criticized the government’s existing approach, which he described as centered on detention and deportation through the Lindela Deportation Centre, without creative or sustainable alternatives. He noted that deported individuals often find their way back into the country, highlighting the inefficacy of current measures.
Matiase further alleged that xenophobic and afrophobic sentiments persist within the President’s own cabinet. He referenced what he termed an “Abahambe brigade”—described as a group comprising former convicts—accusing certain ministers of fueling prejudice, stereotypes, and hatred against fellow Africans, particularly in the period surrounding elections.
“We are calling on the president to act against those ministers who continue to fan these fires of hatred,” Matiase asserted, explicitly naming Minister Gayton McKenzie as one official against whom action should be taken.
The EFF’s response underscores growing political tension around immigration policy in South Africa, as civil society and opposition parties demand more coherent, humane, and continentally conscious strategies to address both domestic concerns and regional solidarity.
