Freetown, June 4, 2026 — As South Africa grapples with renewed waves of xenophobic violence in 2026, Hon. Visvin Gopal Reddy, Member of Parliament from the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, has sharply criticized the government’s failure to create jobs, arguing that unemployment lies at the heart of the unrest.
Reddy said the government has turned to scapegoating migrants, particularly undocumented African nationals, as a diversion from its inability to address the country’s soaring joblessness. “Government should be an enabler of employment, but instead of tackling unemployment, they have shifted the blame onto illegal foreigners, claiming they are taking jobs,” he noted.
He was speaking to African journalists on the sidelines of an AFROMEDI event in Nairobi, Kenya.
He further accused Western powers of deliberately keeping Africa divided, pointing to colonial legacies such as imposed European languages that fractured unity across the continent. “African unity has always been seen as a threat to the West. As long as our people remain divided along tribal, cultural, and linguistic lines, the continent will continue to suffer,” Reddy said, urging African leaders to preach unity and pride in shared identity.
South Africa’s tightening of foreign policy has already made it harder for Africans from other countries to visit, compounding tensions. Reddy warned that political parties and vigilante movements are exploiting these divisions, campaigning on anti‑immigrant platforms and fueling hostility against foreign nationals.
The MK Party MP emphasized that the current Government of National Unity (GNU), with the ANC in partnership with the Democratic Alliance and other parties, has adopted what he described as “the art of diversion,” shifting public anger away from economic failures and toward migrants.
With unemployment at crisis levels and xenophobic attacks escalating, Reddy’s remarks highlight the intersection of economic hardship, political maneuvering, and continental disunity as drivers of South Africa’s ongoing turmoil.
