Politics aside, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s warning on Sunday night is one every South African should pay attention to.
He urged people not to look at another person and assume who they are because of their appearance, language or where they think they come from. He condemned the use of derogatory labels aimed at foreign nationals and reminded South Africans that ordinary citizens have no right to stop people in the street and demand proof of nationality.
“We must be concerned that anti-foreigner sentiment is at times accompanied by tribal and ethnic slurs, insults or attacks aimed at other South Africans,” said Ramaphosa.
“No other person is allowed, for example, to confront someone in the street to demand proof of nationality.” – Ramaphosa said.
Just a week or so ago, musician Makhadzi shared her fears ahead of the planned 30 June national shutdown, asking: “Imagine in your country someone asks for your ID because you look a certain way and your language is not familiar with others?”
Once a society becomes comfortable with insulting labels and reducing people to stereotypes, it becomes easier to judge them by their faces, accents or surnames. The step from name-calling to profiling is smaller than many people realise.
For millions of South Africans, identity is layered. Families speak several languages. Communities stretch across borders. Names, accents and traditions existed long before modern national boundaries. In today’s South Africa, culture does not always fit neatly into a passport.
That is why this debate is about more than immigration.
It is also about culture, belonging and whether we are willing to borrow the same tactics once used to strip black people of their dignity and direct them at fellow Africans.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation. Video: The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa
The danger starts with words
Words shape behaviour.
South Africans know this because our own history is full of examples where language was used to justify discrimination and exclusion. Racist slurs were never just insults. They were tools used to convince society that certain people mattered less than others.
Today, derogatory names aimed at fellow Africans serve a similar purpose.
They reduce individuals to stereotypes and make it easier to blame them for problems rooted in unemployment, inequality, crime and poor service delivery. They turn human beings into symbols of frustration.
The insult becomes an assumption.
The assumption becomes suspicion.
Before long, someone is demanding an identity document from a stranger who may have been born in South Africa.
Makhadzi’s fears could affect South Africans too
That is what makes Makhadzi’s comments so significant.
She was not only speaking about foreign nationals. She was speaking about what happens when appearance becomes evidence.
Venda and Tsonga South Africans have already spoken about being questioned because they “look foreign” or because they speak languages that some people do not recognise. Others have described being challenged over their surnames or accents.
The moment people begin deciding who belongs based on looks or language, the line between citizen and non-citizen starts to disappear.
That should concern everyone.
My lovely South African, I would like to clarify that iam not a politian … and I might not stated my mind in a good manner because of English sometimes is a problem to me .
— Makhadzi (@MakhadziSA) June 1, 2026
But iam really sorry for those who were affected by my previous post .
I made my previous post…
Our protest songs tell a story too
Culture is often carried through music.
South Africa’s liberation songs were born during the struggle against apartheid. They united communities, preserved memory and gave people hope during some of the country’s darkest years.
Yet some recent demonstrations have featured chants that promote exclusion instead of solidarity. In some cases, lyrics have included language designed to humiliate and isolate.
When songs that once represented freedom become vehicles for division, something has changed.
Music reflects society.
It also shapes it.
We should not borrow the oppressor’s playbook
As black Africans, we know what it means to be reduced to stereotypes.
We know what it means to be judged by appearance instead of character. We know the damage caused when language strips people of dignity and turns them into outsiders in their own land.
Using the same methods against fellow Africans does not solve South Africa’s challenges.
It does not create jobs.
It does not fix municipalities.
It does not improve schools or hospitals.
That should give us pause and find better ways to communicate. We don’t have to agree, but we should remember to respect ourselves.
How we treat one another
There is an African proverb that says, “A slip of the tongue is worse than a slip of the foot.”
In isiZulu, the proverb “Amagama ahlaba ukudlula imicibisholo” loosely translates to: “Words pierce more deeply than arrows.”
South Africa’s concerns around migration, border management and economic opportunity deserve honest debate and effective policy. If these discussions are to take us anywhere worth going to, then we should keep insults out of them, especially those that dehumanise us as a people.
Our words become habits. Our habits become culture. The choices we make today will influence how future generations understand belonging.
South Africa can protect its borders without abandoning respect.
Africans can disagree without dehumanising others.
South Africa can face challenges without repeating the same playbook that was once used against it.
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