Malema calls anti-immigration protests ‘Afrophobia’
Julius Malema says anti-immigrant protests fuel Afrophobia and blames inequality, not migrants, for South Africa’s crisis.
Black News 
Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has labelled ongoing anti-illegal immigration marches as “Afrophobia” targeting foreign nationals.
He said poor African migrants are not responsible for South Africa’s unemployment crisis or failing public services.
“Poor Africans from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, or elsewhere on the continent are not responsible for unemployment, inequality, or collapsing public services,” Malema said.
Malema addresses leftist conference in Boksburg
Malema addressed delegates at the South African Communist Party (SACP) Conference of the Left in Boksburg on Friday.
The three-day gathering aims to strengthen coordination, unity in action, political education and organised struggle among leftist and working-class groups, according to the SACP.
Malema said the conference takes place at a turning point marked by economic instability and political uncertainty, alongside what he described as the visible collapse of global capitalism.
“We gather in a world defined by extreme inequality, where wealth concentrates in a few hands while poverty deepens,” he said.
Criticism of global capitalism
Malema said global capitalism no longer tries to justify itself morally.
“It has abandoned justice and now promotes markets, competition and permanent inequality,” he said.
He argued that such systems reduce people to tools for profit, fuelling racism, xenophobia, inequality and environmental destruction.
He added that many workers remain trapped in debt despite being employed, while young people struggle to find jobs after completing their education.
South Africa’s “economic apartheid”
Turning to South Africa, Malema said political apartheid had ended, but economic apartheid remains.
He argued that unequal land ownership, financial concentration and white control of key sectors continue to exclude the majority.
“The majority gained political rights without economic power,” he said.
He cited unemployment figures as evidence, saying official unemployment exceeds 32% and expanded unemployment exceeds 43%, with youth unemployment exceeding 60%.
Malema linked rising crime, gender-based violence and drug abuse to economic hardship.
“When people cannot participate meaningfully in the economy, society begins to break down,” he said.
He criticised narratives that blame migrants for these problems, calling them misleading and dangerous.
“Migrants are not the cause”
Malema rejected claims that foreign nationals drive South Africa’s economic challenges.
“Migrants did not privatise state capacity. They did not concentrate land ownership. Migrants did not design an economy that fails to absorb labour,” he said.
He warned that targeting migrants diverts attention from deeper structural issues.
“A left that cannot defend African solidarity has abandoned its mission,” he added.
