Ronald Lamola Faces Backlash From SA After Call With WHO Director-General

PRETORIA– South Africans demanded that World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus apologise for his statements about the alleged deaths of Ethiopians in South Africa. This was after International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola's meeting with Ghebreyesus on 17 June 2026 to clarify the facts behind Ghebreyesus’s statements.

Lamola posted an update on his @RonaldLamola X account. Lamola revealed that he clarified that the deaths of five Ethiopians were linked to organised crime in the Ethiopian community in the country and not xenophobic violence. Lamola also said only two deaths of Mozambican nationals were confirmed to be due to xenophobic attacks, not five.

Lamola discusses immigration with WHO leader

Lamola also said the pair acknowledged that irregular migration is a challenge in the country and clarified that only law enforcement, not private individuals, has the mandate to enforce immigration laws. He added that those responsible for the deaths of the two Mozambicans will face the might of the law.

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South Africans slam him

Netizens were displeased with how Lamola handled the allegations.

Cape Flats said:

“South Africans demand that Tedros immediately retract his statements and deliver a full, sincere apology across all his social media platforms.”

Brian G said:

“He must publicly retract and apologise.”

Size Prime said:

“This is meaningless without an immediate apology and retraction.”

Briefly News speaks to an expert

Professor Loren Landau, the South African Research Chair in Human Mobility and the Politics of Difference at the African Centre for Migration & Society at Wits University, weighed in on migration challenges.

"At present, it seems as though international collaboration is effectively about deporting people from S.A. and keeping them contained in other countries. These are arrangements akin to what the US has negotiated with Central American dictators or the EU is negotiating with African countries. This is a performative strategy that uses South Africa's wealth and power to strong-arm neighbouring countries into denying their own citizen's rights and futures," he told Briefly News.

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Malawian government pleads for assistance

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Malawian government pleaded for assistance as it plans to repatriate at least 10,000 citizens. The government issued the call after the number of distressed Malawians nationally swelled.

Source: Briefly News