Despite the diplomatic efforts, South Africa’s reputation has been severely damaged.
Not least because of images and videos circulating on social media. Not all of them were what they were purported to be, but one, involving a Ghanaian, was genuine and it sparked huge concern once it started being shared in April.
When Emmanuel Asamoah left Ghana in 2023 for South Africa, he was chasing the kind of opportunity many migrants dream about.
The 37-year-old hairstylist settled in Soweto, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, found work, built a life and believed he had a future in one of Africa’s biggest economies.
But three months ago that future suddenly felt uncertain when he was surrounded by a group of South Africans who demanded that he leave. The confrontation was captured on video.
“This thing of you guys moving from one country to another… is no longer working,” one woman can be seen telling Asamoah.
“Now, we are making it very clear to you guys, we don’t want you here. We want you to fix your countries.”
Having returned to Ghana’s capital, Accra, in May, Asamoah tells the BBC that the encounter left him terrified.
“They came to me and started pushing me… So, they started asking questions and harassing me… they said that I should go home, that we are spoiling their country, because of us, they don’t eat, we are taking their girlfriends,” he says.
South Africa’s high jobless rate – standing at more than 30% – is seen as one of the factors fuelling the tension. It was a sentiment echoed by McKenzie.
“No man can feed another man’s children while his children are starving. Our people are starving of jobs,” he said backing calls for those who came to the country without papers to leave.