SOUTH African Council of Churches (SACC) president Archbishop Sithembile Sipuka has issued an urgent appeal for peace, warning against rising xenophobic violence and hostility towards foreign nationals in South Africa.
In a pastoral letter titled Do Not Turn Away the Stranger dated June 9, the council condemned attacks on migrants while urging communities, churches and authorities to address the root causes of the growing tensions.
SACC said reports from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State and Western Cape pointed to an alarming increase in intimidation and violence targeting foreign nationals.
“Across our land; in KwaZulu-Natal, in Gauteng, in Free State and in Western Cape, a wave of hostility, intimidation and violence has risen against our brothers and sisters from other countries living among us,” the letter read.
The council said the situation resulted in displacement, homelessness and loss of livelihoods.
“The human cost is already grave,” it said, noting that in KwaZulu-Natal alone, there were reports of about 2 000 affected migrant families and around 1 000 local families whose livelihoods had also been disrupted.
According to SACC, many affected people are now without food, shelter, clean water and medical care after being driven from their homes and businesses.
While condemning violence, the council said the concerns being raised by protesting communities should not be dismissed.
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“It would be easy... to condemn those who march and call on them to say no more.
“But we have come to believe that this is not enough.”
SACC acknowledged concerns over crime, unemployment, illegal trading and pressure on public services, but stressed that violence was not the solution.
“These are not imaginary troubles. They are the daily experience of communities already stretched to breaking point,” the council noted, adding that “a real grievance does not make a violent remedy right, nor a false culprit true”.
The church body argued that South Africa’s social and economic challenges stem from deeper structural problems rather than the presence of foreign nationals.
“‘Foreigner nationals take our jobs’ is a misnaming of our troubles,” the letter stated.
It pointed to weaknesses in the education system, corruption and the exploitation of migrant labour as key contributors to unemployment and poverty.
“To blame the stranger is to let these true culprits escape scrutiny,” the council said.
SACC also rejected attempts to link crime to nationality.
“Crime has no nationality,” it said.
“The answer to crime is justice applied to the guilty, never violence visited upon the innocent because of where they were born.”
Drawing on biblical teachings, the council reminded Christians of the command to welcome foreigners.
“The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself,” the letter quoted from Leviticus 19:34.
SACC called on churches to support affected families, facilitate dialogue between communities and migrants and provide humanitarian assistance.
Government was urged to accelerate reforms in border management, immigration systems and anti-corruption measures, while also tackling misinformation that fuels tensions.
Concluding the letter, Sipuka appealed for unity and restraint.
“Who benefits when Africans turn upon Africans?” the letter asked.
The council urged communities to reject violence and embrace reconciliation, saying: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
