'South Africa is nothing without Africa' — MTN chairman blames politicians for rising xenophobia

Gift Davies 13:24 - 27 June 2026

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MTN Group chairman Mcebisi Jonas has criticised rising xenophobia in South Africa.

MTN Group chairman Mcebisi Jonas says South Africa "is nothing without the rest of Africa" as he criticises rising xenophobia and politicians who exploit anti-migrant sentiment.

MTN Group chairman Mcebisi Jonas said South Africa "is nothing without the rest of Africa" while condemning rising xenophobia.
He blamed government failures and politicians who exploit anti-migrant sentiment instead of addressing the underlying problems.
His remarks come as South Africa faces renewed tensions over undocumented migrants and planned anti-foreigner protests.

MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas has hit out at rising anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, declaring that the country "is nothing without the rest of Africa."

Jonas made the remarks while delivering a eulogy at the funeral of Thokozani Damasane, a Zimbabwe-born public servant and activist remembered for his work in South African civic life.

The funeral poster for Thokozani Damasane

Rather than placing blame on foreign nationals, Jonas pointed to failures within the South African state itself as the real driver of public frustration, citing weak border control, a struggling justice system, and a deteriorating education sector.

He accused certain unnamed politicians of stoking anti-migrant anger for political gain ahead of elections, describing some of them as lacking "credibility whatsoever."

Jonas also linked the current wave of hostility to a longer historical pattern, arguing that tribalism and ethnic division were tools first sharpened during the colonial era to keep Africans fractured and easier to control.

Xenophobia attacks

His comments arrive at a tense moment for migration politics in South Africa. Authorities have reportedly been processing more than 15,000 Malawian nationals for repatriation, ahead of planned anti-migrant demonstrations. Security has also been ramped up nationwide as a separate deadline tied to undocumented migrants approaches.

The timing has added weight to Jonas' remarks, with growing concern that South Africa's domestic immigration tensions are beginning to affect its standing elsewhere on the continent. Reports have also linked rising anti-migrant sentiment to cooling support for South Africa among Africans in music and other activities that are said to generate revenue for the country.

Jonas, a former Deputy Minister of Finance in South Africa, is one of the most senior business figures in the region to publicly weigh in on the xenophobia debate in recent months, lending unusual corporate weight to what has largely remained a political and social conversation.

South African women take to the streets to protest xenophobia and deportations.

His remarks have already begun circulating widely on social media, with reactions split between support for his criticism of state failure and pushback from those who feel foreign nationals do place a strain on local resources and job markets.

The funeral setting, paired with the bluntness of his comments, has placed Jonas' intervention firmly inside South Africa's ongoing reckoning with migration, identity, and economic anxiety.