ENVISIONING AN AFRICA that is integrated and less encumbered by national boundaries was what led to the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). A continent operating on a common platform, the African Union (AU), is currently made up of 55 member states. Although each of the countries has distinct delineation by political boundaries, separate governments and legal systems, the essence of some unifying factors has been recognised, particularly those that will help individual countries to prosper while operating under common agreements.
AfCFTA, founded on March 21, 2018, when 44 African Union AU member states gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, became a continent-wide entity as soon as the foundational agreement establishing it was signed. It was thought that ratifying the agreement would make the African Continental Free Trade Area the largest free-trade area in the world in terms of participating countries. As a continent currently with a total population of approximately 1.58 billion people in 2026, Africa accounts for about 19.1 percent of the global population. The continent is experiencing the world’s strongest annual population growth rate at roughly 1.25 percent.
However, despite the vast area it covers, the burgeoning consumer population. and potential for businesses to spend over four trillion US dollars a year, the current situation does not bear a positive correlation with those statistics. According to the African Export Import Bank, intra-African trade accounts for approximately 15 percent of the continent’s total trade. In contrast, a staggering 85 percent of Africa’s trade is conducted with countries outside the continent, representing a heavy reliance on global markets and external partners. That means African countries, though physically near each other, are far apart in terms of trade relations, occasioned by legal, political and historical factors serving as trade barriers.
Like other such agreements elsewhere, the purpose of the AfCFTA is the establishment of a single market for Africa’s goods and services. It is also to permit the free movement of workers and people across the continent and to eliminate 90 percent of tariffs, with the end result being a customs union. Removing barriers to intra-African trade would enhance business between African countries by increasing investment, economies of scale and access to Western markets. The current reality in Africa still entails instability and political crises in countries with larger economies as they have recently reduced their influence and increased their wish to differentiate themselves from others. Large countries are important initiators and developers of free trade processes.
Whereas trading under AfCFTA officially commenced on January 1, 2021, the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government during their 33rd Ordinary Session held on February 9 and 10, 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, took a decision to rapidly and effectively operationalise the AfCFTA, by electing its new and first Secretary-General (SG), the chief executive. The first Secretary General of AfCFTA, on a four-year mandate, emerged as Mr. Wamkele Mene from South Africa. He heads the AfCFTA Secretariat located at the headquarters in Accra, Ghana. He assumed office as the first Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat on March 19, 2020. He was officially sworn in at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Wamkele Mene, who was re-elected during the AU Assembly Summit on February 18, 2024, is currently running his second four-year term in office that is expected to end in February 2028.
Wamkele Mene’s home country, South Africa, has become embroiled in xenophobic attacks on Africans of other nationalities, acts that run counter to what AfCFTA was established to achieve. Mene has reportedly warned that xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant sentiments in South Africa threaten to undermine the entire economic integration agenda of the AfCFTA. He has cautioned that violence and hostility against other African nationals place South Africa in a “defensive position” during trade negotiations and it signals to the rest of the continent that the country is not committed to pan-African unity. In addition to that, he appears convinced that this situation is a deterrence of investment as he has emphasised that xenophobic unrest serves as a “sandbag on the wheels of progress.” It scares away the foreign and domestic investments necessary to boost intra-African trade and build self-sufficient continental value chains.
Mene advocates for the free movement of goods, services and people to dismantle colonial economic models. He views xenophobia as a direct contradiction to the protocols intended to facilitate cross-border business and the mobility of African professionals and entrepreneurs. Mene has dual reasons why he should prevail on South Africa to change its way on the xenophobic violence and insistence that black non-South Africans must leave South Africa. First is his citizenship of South Africa and his position as AfCFTA Secretary-General. The second is that South Africa is a signatory to the AfCFTA agreement, expected to pave the way for the country to benefit from inter-regional trade within the African continent. The country signed the treaty in July 2018 and has since ratified it, fully creating an opening of its borders for preferential trading under the agreement.
South Africa’s Department of Trade Industry and Competition states categorically that South Africa is a State Party to the AfCFTA agreement. There is nothing to add or subtract. According to Trade Law Centre (Tralac), the AfCFTA agreement includes the free movement of persons as a core foundational pillar to create an integrated single market. It is officially supported by the Protocol to the treaty establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment. The vision includes visa-free travel across the continent, an African passport and the right to work and live in other member states.
The implementation challenges in South Africa revolve around the fact that the Free Movement Protocol is a separate, standalone, legal instrument from the main AfCFTA trade agreement that the country’s government has historically avoided due to domestic policy, economic and security concerns, according to the International Centre for Defence and Security. While the AU adopted it alongside the trade deal, it requires a specific number of country ratifications to fully take effect. Progress has been slow, and major economies, including South Africa, have been hesitant to ratify the free movement protocol. As a result, movement across many African borders is still governed by regional economic communities (like ECOWAS or the EAC) rather than a continent-wide visa-free regime.
South Africa is a key participant in the AfCFTA agreement. The AfCFTA agreement has been described as “an important step towards South Africa’s participation in a market of over one billion people and will create opportunities and many benefits for South Africa, which would enable South African companies to export goods and services across the continent.” But, for reasons best known to South Africa, the country has not signed the AU Protocol on Free Movement of Persons. In 2018, South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said AfCFTA “will contribute to the growth and diversification of our economy and therefore create jobs, as well as reduce inequality and unemployment.” Eight years on, after Ramaphosa declared in July 2018 while in the Republic of Mauritania, that “South Africa remains committed to a coordinated strategy to boost intra-Africa trade and to build an integrated market in Africa that will see a market of over one billion people and approximately $3.3 trillion in GDP,” what has South Africa done?
An official statement from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has stated that the Commission deplores the xenophobic attacks and vigilante conduct perpetrated on nationals of other African countries in the Republic of South Africa. The Commission, through the Country Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Republic of South Africa, Honourable Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso, has expressed grave concern over recent reports of xenophobic violence and acts of intimidation against nationals of other African countries in South Africa, allegedly on account of their legal status. The Commission is particularly alarmed by allegations of assaults and harassment carried out by vigilante groups targeting individuals perceived to be undocumented migrants.
There is a pattern and a record. “The Commission notes with grave concern that the latest incident, which forms part of a longstanding pattern of xenophobic violence in South Africa, including the 1998 killing of three foreign nationals in Johannesburg, the August 2000 killings in Cape Town, the May 2008 nationwide attacks resulting in over 60 deaths, 1 700 injuries and 100 000 displacements, the 2009 displacement of Zimbabweans in De Doorns, the 2015 nationwide xenophobic violence requiring military intervention and on-going incidents in the 2020s linked to groups such as Operation Dudula, including the disruption of a church service held by the Mapostori group in Limpopo Province, South Africa in 2022 and where its members systematically blocked entrances to public health facilities in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, demanding that individuals show proof of citizenship before receiving care in 2025 – constitute a grave violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“The Commission affirms the fundamental rights of all individuals, including non-nationals, to equality, dignity and the security of their person, lives and property. The xenophobic attacks not only constitute possible violations or abuse of Articles 3, 4, 5, 12, 14 and 28 of the African Charter but also are contrary to the principle of African solidarity, which underpins the African Charter. Furthermore, the Commission reiterates that the responsibility to enforce immigration laws rests solely with duly authorised State institutions, and that any form of vigilante justice or mob action constitutes a violation of the rule of law and undermines the State’s human rights obligations.” While noting public statements by South African authorities condemning unlawful conduct, even when not backed up by official actions, the Commission emphasises that such expressions must be accompanied by prompt, concrete and sustained measures to prevent recurrence and ensure accountability.”
In view of the foregoing, the African Commission calls upon the government of the Republic of South Africa to take some actions, namely: to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all reported incidents of violence and intimidation against foreign nationals, in accordance with international human rights standards. It is expected to ensure accountability and access to justice by identifying, prosecuting, and sanctioning all perpetrators, including those involved in organising or inciting such acts, and ensure that victims have access to effective remedies and reparations. It is to take decisive measures to dismantle and prevent the operation of vigilante groups engaging in unlawful enforcement activities, including through clear public directives and strengthened law enforcement responses.
Other actions recommended include the enhancement of protection measures for migrants and other non-nationals, particularly in areas identified as high-risk, including through increased security presence and accessible reporting mechanisms. South Africa was advised to develop and implement comprehensive strategies, including public awareness campaigns and community engagement initiatives, to address the root causes of xenophobia and counter misinformation and to strengthen oversight mechanisms to ensure that law enforcement agencies act in compliance with human rights standards and that the rule of law is upheld at all times. Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso concluded, adding that the African Commission will continue to monitor the situation closely and remains ready to engage with the government of South Africa to ensure that justice, accountability and the protection of human and peoples’ rights are assured. These are words of counsel. It is hoped that South African authorities and people will take heed and act as counselled.
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