South Africa: Fact Check - Is SA's New Home Affairs Minister Zimbabwean?

3 July 2024
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By Rebecca Davis

The claim that new Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber is from Zimbabwe points to a xenophobic campaign waged on social media in recent years.

After President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his Cabinet for the Government of National Unity (GNU), it didn't take long for commentary to start flying about the six DA ministers he appointed.

Among the claims that went viral on social media was that the new Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber was from Zimbabwe.

Is this true?

One of the X accounts to tweet this allegation belongs to Mehmet Vefa Dag, a wannabe politician who stood unsuccessfully for election for the Land Party.

Dag tweeted: "BREAKING NEWS: The Republic of South Africa demands answers as the DA Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber who is alleged to [be] a Zimbabwean foreigner is given a key position in [the] country. On Wikipedia Leon's place of birth was changed 5 hours ago from Zimbabwe to South Africa, this is happening while South Africa is watching."

He accompanied his tweet with a screenshot of Wikipedia showing the site's edit panel, which Dag presented as evidence of the claim that Schreiber's birthplace was hastily changed to South Africa after his appointment as minister.

When we checked Schreiber's Wikipedia page a few hours later, all reference to his place of birth had...

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