South Africa: Online Outrage Over Joburg Mayor’s Comment About Hiring Immigrants

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero’s suggestion to hire immigrants to improve efficiency with the Johannesburg Metro Police Department was among the main online topics of conversation about immigrants in South Africa in August, according to a report by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC).

According to the keyword approach used to track the conversation, 849, 040 mentions of xenophobia were made by 113, 565 authors in August. This represents an increase of 80% compared to July 2024.

Morero had said that the City might have to consider recruiting qualified and properly documented foreign nationals to assist with bridging the language barriers when foreign nationals are arrested. Many South Africans disagreed with Morero’s suggestion, pointing out the high unemployment rate in the country, and demanded that they be prioritized.

CABC reports that Morero’s comment resulted in some Soweto residents marching to his office with CVs because, according to them, “if there were jobs for immigrants, then there were jobs for South Africans”.

Morero withdrew his suggestion following the controversy. “I withdraw my proposal and apologize for the anxiety it might have caused to the residents of Johannesburg and the people of South Africa,” he said.

The top three hashtags were #OperationDudula, #PutSouthAfricansFirst, and #MissSA2024.

#PutSouthAfricansFirst advocated for the priority of South Africans in all aspects. Supporters of the hashtag have called for undocumented immigrants to be expelled and for the nation to deal with its social, economic, and security challenges. ‘Operation Dudula’ shows that the movement is increasing its efforts to remove undocumented immigrants. The movement is targeting foreign-owned spaza shops.

Chidimma Adetshina’s citizenship controversy #MissSA2024 also sparked a heated debate, raising concerns about identity theft, immigration, and the selection process for national pageants. Chidimma’s father is Nigerian and her mother who was originally thought to be South African, is from Mozambique. The Department of Home Affairs announced that it believes there may have been fraud or identity theft involved in the registration of Chidimma Adetshina’s birth. There is currently an ongoing investigation into the matter.

CABC reports that the online anti-immigrant conversation continues to be dominated by anonymous comments.

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