South Africa says xenophobia claims are now hitting its wallet, with artistes losing gigs across Africa after a mass evacuation of illegal immigrants sparked continental backlash.

The South African Government is starting to count the cost of xenophobia claims, saying they are hurting its citizens’ businesses and incomes abroad, cbinews.tv reports.

Speaking to SABC on Sunday, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi explained that the recent mass evacuation in the country was aimed at illegal African immigrants, not xenophobia.

But that message hasn’t landed well across the continent. Kubayi said South Africa is now facing backlash, and some of its artistes are having their shows cancelled.

“The majority of South African artistes perform on the continent, and many of them are seeing their gigs being cancelled,” she said.

The tension comes after South Africa captain Ronwen Williams voiced his frustration on June 11 following Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 loss to co-hosts Mexico in their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup match. The defeat leaves South Africa with work to do in Group A if they want to reach the knockout rounds.

Williams said he was disappointed by what he saw as a lack of support from fellow African nations, noting that many African football fans seemed to back Mexico instead of an African team on the world stage. He called for more unity among Africans during major tournaments.

In recent weeks, waves of xenophobic attacks in South Africa have prompted Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi and other African countries to evacuate their citizens from the country.

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