By Agencies

SOUTH AFRICA’S King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has insisted that enforcing immigration laws should not be equated with xenophobia during an official visit to Zimbabwe.

He argued that sovereign states have the right to regulate who enters their territory and that the central challenge across Africa is governance.

The king used his own passport to make his point.

Speaking to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa during an official visit to Zimbabwe on Monday, the King said that when he arrived in the country, he had to present his travel documents, declare his nationality and state his purpose of visit, just like any other traveller.

He said that by entering Zimbabwe, he accepted that he was a visitor bound by Zimbabwean law, despite remaining King of the Zulu Nation.

The King said no country should abandon the enforcement of its immigration laws out of fear of being labelled xenophobic.

He was speaking at a bilateral meeting attended by King Ndlovuyezwe Ndamase of AmaMpondo aseNyandeni in the Eastern Cape, along with other traditional leaders.

The meeting follows weeks of anti-illegal immigration protests led by March and March across parts of South Africa, which resulted in the repatriation of foreign nationals, most of whom were in the country illegally.

King Misuzulu said that while immigration laws must be enforced, no person should be attacked with violence.

“On one side, there are those who wrongly conclude that every concern about illegal immigration is an expression of xenophobia. On the other side, there are those who unfairly attribute every challenge facing their communities to foreign nationals. Neither position serves Africa,” the King said.

He said a person who enters another country lawfully, follows its laws and contributes to society should always be treated with dignity.

He said unlawful entry, document fraud and organised human trafficking are matters for criminal justice and public administration, not questions of race or nationality.

The King said the Zulu Kingdom understands this reality well, pointing to Chief Mzilikazi kaMashobane, who served under King Shaka before leading his followers north to establish the Ndebele nation in what is today Zimbabwe.

He also pointed to Soshangane kaZikode, who established the Gaza State across parts of present-day Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Eswatini.

He said communities with shared roots also exist in Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, and that African identity has never been confined to colonial borders.