Pan-Africanism Is Not a Licence for Disrespect and Lawlessness in South Africa

Pan-Africanism does not create room for disrespect, lawlessness or the disregard of the sovereignty of African states. There is no doubt that Africa must unite. We must pursue greater cooperation, easier movement of people and goods, and stronger economic integration.

The legitimate movement of Africans across our continent should be encouraged. However, this principle should not be used to justify the unrestricted movement of criminals, illicit goods or undocumented persons across sovereign borders.

Every African leader whether a monarch or an elected leader has a fundamental responsibility to protect the citizens of their country, secure its borders, provide basic services and create conditions in which people can live in peace and dignity.

Citizens have a responsibility to hold their leaders accountable and ensure that those entrusted with public power act in their interests. Where governments fail, citizens must use every lawful mechanism available to remove them.

We cannot seriously speak about uniting Africans from Cape to Cairo or from Morocco to Madagascar when Africans are unable to unite within their own villages, townships, cities and countries. One cannot genuinely build continental peace while communities remain divided and citizens remain at war with themselves.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Africans seeking refuge in another African country because of apartheid, political persecution, economic hardship or other circumstances beyond their control. Africa has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those fleeing oppression.

However, seeking refuge, migrating for economic opportunities or living in another African country must take place within the legal framework of the receiving state. Economic migration is now a geopolitical reality. Countries across every region of the world experience it. Africa is no exception.

I speak from personal experience from living and working in three African countries. In the early 1990s, I lived in Arusha, Tanzania, where I received protection and military training in a restricted camp as part of the struggle against the racist apartheid regime.

I later lived in Kigali, Rwanda, as a career diplomat, where I complied with the laws and regulations of the country. I subsequently worked and lived in Maputo, Mozambique, for almost two years as an expatriate with ActionAid Denmark.

I have also lived and worked in Germany and Brazil for a combined period of approximately nine years and have travelled as a visitor or tourist to more than 40 countries around the world. In every one of these countries, I understood that I needed to respect and abide by the laws of that country.

Some may argue that I write from a position of privilege. I do not believe that is an accurate characterisation.

During the liberation struggle, I travelled under extremely difficult circumstances. At one point, I entered Tanzania clandestinely through Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and eventually returned home through Botswana as a trained guerrilla. The people and governments of those countries supported the liberation struggle and treated us with solidarity and dignity.

I deliberately use the phrase “self-inflicted” when discussing many of Africa’s political and economic crises. While our continent has suffered enormously from colonialism and its legacy, many of our present failures are the consequence of decisions made by Africans themselves.

We cannot blame colonialism and Apartheid for every failure while ignoring corruption, maladministration and dysfunctional institutions by our own leaders.

If an African state is expected to provide protection and assistance to a foreign national, the state should provide the legal parameters that identify and legitimise their stay.

The doctrine of Pan-Africanism from great thinkers such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Robert Sobukwe and Thomas Sankara advocated peaceful relations that are underpinned in law and order. Pan-Africanism is about liberation, dignity, solidarity, self-determination and the advancement of African people.

It cannot therefore be reduced to an argument that borders should have no meaning or that national laws should simply be ignored.

I have personally visited liberation struggle camps and safe houses in in Zimbabwe, Maputo, Namibia and Zambia, where many South Africans sought refuge during apartheid. Many South Africans and their descendants remain in these countries today. They were received because African countries opened their doors to them. The generosity of frontline states who supported our liberation was subject to systems of documentation, administration and security.

Africa should aspire to a future where an African can travel from Cape to Cairo with greater ease, where businesses can operate across borders, where goods move efficiently, and where skills and knowledge are shared for the greater prosperity of the continent.

Achieving that vision requires stronger institutions, not weaker ones. It requires cooperation between states, not contempt for their sovereignty. It requires properly managed borders and legal pathways to making a better life in South Africa.

Pan-Africanism must never become an excuse for lawlessness. We can build an Africa without colonial borders defining our destiny while respecting the sovereignty and laws of each African state.

We can promote free movement while maintaining proper documentation. We can welcome refugees while protecting national security.

The Africa we want is possible and worth pursuing to ensure that South Africa doesn’t not become a scapegoat country for failed leaders across the continent.

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