The Minority Leader and Third Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on West African nations to take a united stand demanding the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of South Africans involved in xenophobic attacks against African nationals, particularly citizens from West Africa.

He emphasised that South African authorities must go beyond public condemnations and take firm legal action against offenders. According to him, South Africa’s liberation was achieved through African solidarity, and continued mob violence against African migrants represents a betrayal of that shared history.

Speaking during a public interest statement on the floor of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Nigeria, last Tuesday, Afenyo-Markin said:

“South Africa must move from speeches to action. The South African Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate must investigate every documented incident. The perpetrators — many of whose faces are already known from social media — must be identified, arrested, charged and prosecuted without fear or favour . Not some of them. All of them.”

The statement, delivered under the theme “West African lives, dignity and the imperative of integration: accountability, justice, free movement and regional solidarity,” also urged formal diplomatic engagement with South African authorities, the African Union Commission, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

“I am asking this House to transmit a formal Statement of Deep Concern to the South African Parliament, the South African government, the African Union (AU) Commission, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, demanding arrests, prosecutions and convictions, and making clear that this Parliament will not accept the routine violation of the dignity and safety of West African nationals anywhere on this continent,” he said.

In his seven-page submission, which received backing from several MPs, he referenced repeated xenophobic attacks in South African cities affecting Nigerians, Ghanaians, Ethiopians, and other Africans, as well as diplomatic responses from Ghana and Nigeria.

Afenyo-Markin also cited President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks during the 2026 Freedom Day celebrations in Bloemfontein, noting that while the comments condemned xenophobia, they required stronger enforcement.

He said “Now, Madam Speaker, I want to address directly the intervention of President Cyril Ramaphosa in his keynote address at the 2026 Freedom Day National Celebrations in Bloemfontein on April 27…We must not allow these concerns to give rise to xenophobia, directed towards people from other African countries or any other parts of the world. Instead, we must insist that the law be upheld and enforced. We will not allow people to take the law into their own hands.’”

He added: “’It cannot be, and it must never be, that we trample on the African fellowship that made our freedom possible.’”

While acknowledging the remarks, he insisted that words alone were not enough.

“Condemnations, however eloquent, do not bring a single attacker before a magistrate. Calls to uphold the law ring hollow when the perpetrators of mob violence, arson, looting, assault, and murder walk free — their faces visible in videos that every African has seen,” he stated.

He also warned that referring to African migrants as conditional “guests” could fuel extremist narratives.

Concluding his submission, he stressed that South Africa’s liberation history demanded accountability rather than violence against fellow Africans.

“South Africa was liberated by African solidarity. Frontline States bore enormous costs — economic, political and military — to bring apartheid to its knees. West African nations stood with the liberation movement for decades. To repay that solidarity with mob violence is a betrayal — not only of the victims, but of every African who sacrificed so that South Africa could be free,” he said.

He further highlighted insecurity in the Sahel region, citing attacks on Ghanaian traders in Burkina Faso and broader instability, and called for stronger ECOWAS protection mechanisms.

He also noted that while ECOWAS has free movement protocols in place, their implementation remains weak across the region.