MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has delivered a strong rebuke of growing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa.

He warned that xenophobic rhetoric threatens both the country’s values and its future prosperity.

Speaking during a funeral service in South Africa, Jonas argued that hostility toward foreign nationals often serves as a distraction from deeper governance and socio-economic challenges facing the country.

He stressed that South Africa’s success is inseparable from the fortunes of the wider African continent and called for renewed commitment to African unity and cooperation.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa. And without Africa, our growth as a country, economically, our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa,” he said.

His remarks come amid ongoing debates over immigration, unemployment, and social tensions in South Africa, where periodic outbreaks of xenophobic violence and anti-immigrant rhetoric have raised concerns among human rights groups and regional leaders.

Jonas emphasised that Africans must reject prejudice based on nationality, ethnicity, or place of origin.

He insisted that such attitudes undermine the principles of equality and human dignity.

“We cannot judge people by their origin. We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

The MTN chairman warned against the tendency to blame foreign nationals for the country’s economic and social problems, arguing that doing so diverts attention from the structural issues that require urgent policy solutions.

He urged South Africans to embrace a broader vision of African solidarity, noting that the continent’s economies are increasingly interconnected and that regional cooperation remains essential for sustainable growth and development.