Ramaphosa rejects June 30 ultimatum, urges citizens not to take law into their own hands

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday rejected calls by anti-illegal immigration groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa by June 30, saying the deadline was unnecessary and urging South Africans not to take the law into their own hands.

Message from Nasrec

Speaking on the sidelines of Youth Day commemorations at Nasrec, Ramaphosa said government was already implementing measures to address immigration challenges and that immigration enforcement remained the responsibility of the state.

He described the so-called deadline as unnecessary: “The so-called 30th of June, in my view, is not an event that is even necessary because we are addressing the challenges that our people are facing.”

Warning against vigilantism and destabilisation

Ramaphosa told citizens: “No South African must take any action against any person from any of our African sister countries. That is the responsibility of government and government officials.”

He warned authorities would not tolerate attempts to create instability under the guise of addressing illegal immigration. “We must not allow South Africans to be duped and to be misled by those who want to foster instability in our country. We will not allow that.”

On marches linked to illegal immigration, the president said some participants appeared intent on destabilising the country and gave a clear message that government would not allow that.

Government action and regional cooperation

Ramaphosa said measures announced by government had been welcomed as important and immediately effective steps, and that authorities would ensure there was no disruption to the lives of South Africans: “Security forces in our country are going to ensure that there is no instability and there’s no disruption of the lives of our people.”

Responding to criticism that government acted only after pressure from anti-illegal immigration organisations, he said: “We have actually been doing a lot of work changing our immigration laws and also empowering our immigration officials to address these specific issues.”

Describing migration as a broader economic challenge, Ramaphosa said many who enter South Africa are seeking better opportunities and that the country wanted to work with regional partners to address root causes.

Diplomacy and countering disinformation

Ramaphosa said he had recently spoken to Malawi’s president, who had expressed understanding and pledged cooperation: “I spoke to the president of Malawi just a few days ago, and he said to me, ‘We understand the challenge and the problems that you are facing. ”We are with you, and we are there to support you. We will work with your government to enable those who want to leave and those who may be undocumented to leave peacefully,’” Ramaphosa said.

He added that envoys would be sent to other African countries to explain government’s position and to counter what he described as misinformation: “My envoys are going to be leaving to various countries on the continent to deal specifically with the disinformation and with the position that government has taken on this issue.”

Ramaphosa also rejected claims that South Africans were xenophobic, saying: “There’s a lot of disinformation that is aimed at tarnishing the image of South Africa. The one thing that South Africans are not is xenophobic. South Africans are not xenophobic and we are addressing their concerns.”