Thabo Mbeki Urges Unity Among Africans, Slams Operation Dudula and Migrant Blame
- Former President Thabo Mbeki has called on all Africans to unite, live together and not attack each other
- The former president said that South Africans cannot blame the country's problems on the people who migrated to South Africa
- Mbeki also called out Operation Dudula, saying it really hurt him to see groups operating like other African countries are the enemies
Former President Thabo Mbeki has spoken out about Operation Dudula, expressing his deep concern over the movement. Speaking at the 15th anniversary celebration of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, he said it hurts him to see such groups emerge in South Africa.
Source: Getty Images
What did Mbeki say?
On Saturday, 11 October 2025, Former President Thabo Mbeki urged Africans to stand together, live in harmony, and refrain from turning against one another. Speaking at the Thabo Mbeki Foundation’s 15th anniversary celebration, Mbeki said that South Africans cannot blame the problems the country is facing on foreign nationals.
He explained that South Africa’s challenges stem from within the country, not from foreign nationals. Mbeki said that many people across the continent reach out to the Foundation for support, which places a responsibility on it to foster unity among Africans and create spaces for dialogue around shared challenges.
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The former president noted that there are problems that need to be solved in the country. He said that it is wrong for South Africans to view themselves as enemies of other Africans. Mbeki stated that there is much to worry about in Africa, starting with South Africa.
What did South Africans say?
Social media users had mixed reactions to what the former president said.
@PrinceOfMutasa said:
"Thabo is the co-author or Zimbabwean problems that led Zimbabweans to flock into South Africa. This is the guy who lied that 2002 Elections were free and fair while the report of the Khamphepe and Masoneke Observer Mission said the opposite. It had to take DA to sue SA government to release the report which later released in 2012 but Zimbabwean lives were already destroyed."
@UnityInSA said:
"Mbeki is half right. Foreigners are obviously not the cause of all our problems in South Africa, but illegal foreigners are one of the big problems in South Africa."
@my_azania said:
"Funny he should say that because he did the most deporting of illegal foreigners during his term. Back in those days the only Africans who slipped under our radar were Mozambicans disguised as tsonga people."
Source: Getty Images
@Stimela_Mgazi said:
"He was in Britain enjoying freedom while people were dying in South Africa during apartheid."
@SihleManq said:
"I see Dudula in the context of abiding by law, not as anti-African as it's being perceived. I can see how that perception can be exploited by who should know better. Other Africans also have their own immigration laws which they rightfully enforce."
3 Stories about Operation Dudula
- Briefly News also reported that the South African Human Rights Commission experienced defeat when it took Operation Dudula to court.
- Civic organisation Operation Dudula has spoken out after members were mobilised in its latest activism.
- Operation Dudula members returned to Lilian Ngoyi Clinic in Diepkloof, Soweto, on 11 August 2025, to remove undocumented foreign nationals.
Source: Briefly News
