You're chasing ghosts, not the devil - Mbeki slams blame game over foreigners

Thabo Mbeki launched a strong defence of African migrants. Speaking at the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and AUDA-NEPAD Business Breakfast, Mbeki argued that undocumented African migrants are being unfairly blamed for unemployment and crime. He said, "The levels of high unemployment in this country are not due. They are not due to undocumented Africans. They are not."

Mbeki said South Africa's economic difficulties were rooted in developments that long predated the current immigration debate. He stated that migration into South Africa would continue regardless of political pressure or anti-immigrant sentiment, saying, "So, one prediction I will make is that the Africans will continue to come to South Africa. It doesn't matter what you do." Mbeki accused anti-immigrant campaigners of pursuing the wrong targets, stating, "you are busy chasing after ghosts, and you are leaving this devil."

His remarks come days after nearly 300 Ghanaians voluntarily returned home from South Africa amid heightened fears following anti-immigrant protests and growing concerns about the safety of foreign nationals.