The June 2026 Watershed: Betrayal of South Africa’s Post-Apartheid Promise
By Edwin Mutyenyoka. In this piece, Mutyenyoka examines the paradoxical reality of post-Apartheid South Africa, where a state founded on human rights and Pan-African solidarity now actively scapegoats and discriminates against migrants. The state enables xenophobia through three interconnected actions: neoliberal economic policies and corruption that cripple public services, the securitization of non-citizens via legislation that ignores international protections and deflective political rhetoric that encourages xenophobic vigilantism. Challenging a narrative of pure victimhood, the piece highlights migrant agency by showing through interviews and focus groups in Johannesburg how migrants negotiate, resist, and reshape necro-politics.
