South Africa has flatly rejected Nigeria’s request for compensation for citizens who fled xenophobic attacks and abandoned their properties, with Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni dismissing the proposal and provocatively asking Nigeria to instead reveal the locations of alleged Nigerian drug dens in the country.
Nigeria asked for compensation. South Africa asked for the addresses of drug dens.
In a stinging diplomatic rebuke delivered at a press conference on Friday, South Africa’s Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, flatly rejected Nigeria’s request for compensation for citizens who fled renewed xenophobic violence and abandoned businesses and properties in the country.
Nigeria had indicated it was compiling records of losses suffered by returnees as a basis for formal compensation discussions. Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, confirmed earlier this week that the Federal Government had begun documenting affected Nigerians’ losses.
Pretoria’s response was dismissive — and pointed.
“We’ll be interested to know where the drug dens of Nigerians are. So they can show us where they have been holding the drugs so that we can clean the drugs in South Africa quite urgently,” Ntshavheni said.
On the question of property, the minister drew a sharp legal distinction between formally registered assets and informal settlement structures.
“Squatter camps and informal settlements are never properties because they are illegal in the country. So you are already violating our law if you are going to tell us about a shack in some informal settlement,” she stated.
Vanguard reported that for legitimately registered properties, Ntshavheni said the solution was straightforward: “Those who leave their properties, if they are properly legally registered in the country, they can dispose of the properties in the property market in South Africa — whether it’s movable or immovable property.”
She added pointedly: “And we are going to seriously appreciate being told where the drug dens are.”
The South African government also announced new measures to prevent the re-establishment of informal settlements following demolitions.
The exchange follows a fresh wave of xenophobic violence targeting African migrants across South Africa that prompted a significant number of Nigerians to return home, sparking the bilateral dispute now playing out in increasingly acrimonious public statements.
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