I left my wife and twins behind - why this Nigerian man fled South Africa

Nigerian Richard Itoro is not definite erstwhile helium volition spot his duplicate children again.

Fearing for his information arsenic the anti-migrant protests cranked up successful South Africa this year, the 47-year-old near his household and concern down successful Johannesburg and boarded 1 of the voluntary repatriation flights to Nigeria successful June.

His is conscionable 1 of galore experiences that is fuelling diplomatic hostility and threatening to rupture relations betwixt South Africa and different countries connected the continent.

Tens of thousands of foreigners person near the state implicit the past 2 months.

"It was achy for maine to permission [the] idiosyncratic who's my champion friend," Itoro tells the BBC, with tears welling up, arsenic helium reflects connected saying goodbye to his South African wife.

Over 15 years, helium had built up a car-dealership business, bought a location and created a family. That is present each gone for him.

Itoro became the people of harassment but his woman was not spared the intimidation.

He says his neighbours told her: "You're joined to a Nigerian. Those of you who are joined to Nigerians we are expected to apprehension you people.

"You guys betrayed us. Go and permission the state with your hubby and don't beryllium here."

Itoro was baffled.

"My household was conscionable a tiny family, which was beauteous and peaceful. I had nary issues with anybody."

The unit became excessively much.

"If I spell location and commencement each implicit again, it's amended than being here, being harassed, being frightened for my life," Itoro says.

But, the businessman says, the Nigerian precocious committee would not fto his woman and children question with him.

He describes however leaving felt similar a movie wherever idiosyncratic boards the past chopper formation retired of a besieged city.

"I privation I could person conscionable begged the radical from the embassy and said: 'This is my wife, I can't permission her down and my kids,' but I couldn't.

"So my car started departing and I wished I had told her not to cry."

The anti-migrant groups successful South Africa said their protests were aimed astatine undocumented foreigners. The country's outspoken Culture Minister, Gayton McKenzie, who leads 1 of the parties successful the conjugation government, besides emphasised this point.

"We accidental South Africa is unfastened to our brothers connected the continent but travel present legitimately. Come with your papers," helium told the BBC's Interview programme.

But Itoro says his ineligible presumption did not support him from hostility arsenic helium shows the BBC a transcript of the papers that helium says proves helium had the close to enactment successful the country.

He was not alone, according to the Nigerian authorities.

"We person records of Nigerians who person morganatic papers to stay successful South Africa, yet they person been attacked," Nigeria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye said during a caller gathering with South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola.

The somesthesia was raised past week pursuing the decease of a Nigerian who was killed arsenic constabulary were arresting him implicit suspected cause offences. An autarkic assemblage is present investigating.

Lamola maintained that South Africa deals with those who instrumentality the instrumentality into their ain hands, but added that President Cyril Ramaphosa was besides "very steadfast connected South Africa's sovereign close to enforce its migration laws".

Despite the diplomatic efforts, South Africa's estimation has been severely damaged.

Not slightest due to the fact that of images and videos circulating connected societal media. Not each of them were what they were purported to be, but one, involving a Ghanaian, was genuine and it sparked immense interest erstwhile it started being shared successful April.

When Emmanuel Asamoah near Ghana successful 2023 for South Africa, helium was chasing the benignant of accidental galore migrants imagination about.

The 37-year-old hairstylist settled successful Soweto, connected the outskirts of Johannesburg, recovered work, built a beingness and believed helium had a aboriginal successful 1 of Africa's biggest economies.

But 3 months agone that aboriginal abruptly felt uncertain erstwhile helium was surrounded by a radical of South Africans who demanded that helium leave. The confrontation was captured connected video.

"This happening of you guys moving from 1 state to another… is nary longer working," 1 pistillate tin beryllium seen telling Asamoah.

"Now, we are making it precise wide to you guys, we don't privation you here. We privation you to hole your countries."

Having returned to Ghana's capital, Accra, successful May, Asamoah tells the BBC that the brushwood near him terrified.

"They came to maine and started pushing me... So, they started asking questions and harassing me… they said that I should spell home, that we are spoiling their country, due to the fact that of us, they don't eat, we are taking their girlfriends," helium says.

South Africa's precocious jobless complaint - lasting astatine much than 30% - is seen arsenic 1 of the factors fuelling the tension. It was a sentiment echoed by McKenzie.

"No antheral tin provender different man's children portion his children are starving. Our radical are starving of jobs," helium said backing calls for those who came to the state without papers to leave.

But Asamoah insists helium had a stamp successful his passport giving him support to stay.

"I was not illegal. I was ineligible successful South Africa. That's wherefore I told them that, they tin instrumentality maine to the constabulary presumption truthful that we tin spell to Home Affairs and verify," helium says.

For Asamoah, returning location has brought an unexpected caller start.

With enactment from a Ghanaian businessman, helium has opened a cement concern and is determined to physique his future.

"My member and sisters successful South Africa. I'm successful Ghana now. I'm fixing my country," helium says.

But Ghana's authorities remains aggravated astatine the mode it sees its citizens are being viewed successful South Africa.

In an interrogation with the BBC, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa spoke astir however helium saw it arsenic going against the tone of continental solidarity and a nonaccomplishment to recognise however African countries helped successful the conflict against apartheid, which ended successful 1994.

South Africa "should beryllium the epitome of Pan-Africanism. We speech astir African integration. We speech astir escaped movement… adjacent if you person issues with precocious immigration, is this however you resoluteness it?", the curate asked.

In Lagos, Itoro is inactive pining for his family.

"It's not easy. But we speech each day, and I'm broken. There is hope, because... my woman is going to articulation maine precise soon, arsenic soon arsenic God lifts maine up. But it was heartbreaking, and that's however I felt: similar I mislaid everything," helium says.