“It is a shameful dent” – Zanetor condemns South African xenophobia at AU Day parade

The Second Deputy President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and Member of Parliament for the Korle Klottey constituency, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has condemned ongoing xenophobic hostilities in South Africa, describing the systematic targeting of fellow Africans as a shameful stain on the collective conscience of the continent.

Speaking in an interview at the high-profile flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the 63rd African Union (AU) Day at the State House in Accra on Monday, 25 May 2026, the lawmaker warned that the recurring anti-immigrant violence severely undermines the global credibility of African leadership.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings emphasised that the distressing images of violence emanating from South Africa have cast a huge dent on the image of the continent, representing a tragic retrogression to the outside world at a time when Africa should be consolidating its geopolitical influence.

Betraying the Ancestral Vision

The African Union Day, celebrated annually on May 25, marks the historic founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which later transitioned into the African Union in 2002 to drive continental unity, economic integration, resilience, and decolonisation.

Confronting the public with unyielding frankness, Dr Agyeman-Rawlings stated that the xenophobic attacks on the very individuals who are supposed to be brothers and sisters heavily question the core ideology of African unity that the continent’s forebears fought and sacrificed for.

The PAP Second Deputy President argued that the regional bloc cannot celebrate institutional progress while its citizens are systematically hunted and displaced by fellow Africans, urging continental bodies to move beyond diplomatic platitudes and aggressively enforce peace and human rights protections.

Moving Beyond Ideology

Echoing the call for structural transformation, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, James Gyakye Quayson, noted that the foundational principles of Pan-Africanism remain heavily relevant to the continent’s modern journey for socioeconomic progress and industrial development.

However, the Deputy Minister issued a direct challenge to the administrative organs of the AU, emphasising that the union must completely cease to exist as a mere political ideology discussed in boardroom meetings. Instead, Mr Gyakye Quayson stated that the AU must actively promote concrete human dignity, tangible economic development, and unwavering unity across the sub-regions.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)