Ramaphosa pleads with Mahama to ask other African countries to work with South Africa amid xenophobic attacks

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed President Mahama's call for African countries to work with South Africa on migration issues.

• Pretoria plans to dispatch envoys across Africa following recent xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant protests.

• Ghana has raised concerns over the treatment of its citizens in South Africa and petitioned the African Union on the matter.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly welcomed calls by President John Dramani Mahama for African countries to work with South Africa as Pretoria grapples with growing tensions over migration and recent xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals.

READ ALSO: Another African nation joins Ghana in evacuating citizens from South Africa amid anti-migrant attacks

Speaking to journalists after bilateral talks with Kenyan President William Ruto in Pretoria, Ramaphosa said Mahama's call for greater African cooperation had influenced South Africa's decision to dispatch special envoys across the continent to engage fellow governments on migration challenges.

The South African leader stressed that migration was not a challenge unique to his country and called for a continental response.

READ ALSO: South Africa’s Julius Malema criticises Ghana’s evacuation of citizens as ‘unnecessary’

Ramaphosa's comments come amid heightened diplomatic tensions following a wave of anti-immigrant protests and attacks in parts of South Africa that have affected nationals from several African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi and Mozambique.

The South African government has faced growing criticism from across the continent after foreign nationals were targeted during demonstrations linked to concerns over illegal immigration, unemployment and pressure on public services.

In response, Ramaphosa has repeatedly condemned violence against migrants while insisting that immigration challenges should be addressed through lawful and coordinated measures rather than vigilantism.

The South African President acknowledged the social and economic pressures facing his country but argued that lasting solutions would require cooperation from African governments.

READ ALSO: 600 more Ghanaians register for evacuation from South Africa

Reuters reported that Pretoria plans to send diplomatic envoys not only across Africa as part of efforts to build international cooperation on migration and repair relations strained by the recent attacks.

The development follows recent remarks by President Mahama advocating stronger continental cooperation in addressing migration-related challenges. 

The issue has become particularly sensitive for Ghana after some Ghanaian nationals were caught up in the anti-immigrant protests. Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, recently disclosed that Ghana had petitioned the African Union over the treatment of its citizens in South Africa and was documenting losses suffered by affected Ghanaians.

Despite the tensions, Ramaphosa maintained that South Africans are not inherently hostile to fellow Africans.