Zimbabwe: Social Media Takes a Jibe At Anti-Immigrant Protesters As Three Zimbabweans Join Ramaphosa At Joburg AI Summit

Social media users in Zimbabwe and beyond have seized on a video of three prominent Zimbabwean business leaders appearing alongside South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Google Cloud Summit in Johannesburg, taking a jibe at anti-immigrant protests taking place across South Africa.

Videos from Wednesday's summit showed Ramaphosa walking with Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa, Google Senior Vice President James Manyika and MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Tendai Mupita, all of whom are Zimbabwean.

AfricaNews UpdatesThe video quickly went viral as thousands of South Africans staged demonstrations this week against foreign nationals.

Video Playerhttps://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/newzimlive/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/03065955/WhatsApp-Video-2026-07-01-at-13.29.53.mp400:0000:0001:19Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.Protesters accused foreign nationals of taking jobs, placing pressure on public services and contributing to crime. Organisers called for tighter border controls, mass deportations and greater employment opportunities for South African citizens.

According to Stats SA's 2024 data, South Africa is home to an estimated 3.9 million migrants, with Zimbabweans making up the largest migrant community. High unemployment, persistent electricity shortages and mounting pressure on healthcare and education services have contributed to growing anti-immigrant sentiment.

The contrast between the protests and the composition of the Summit delegation quickly became a talking point on social media.

"South Africans are marching against immigrants while their President walks with three Zimbabweans to talk about the future of AI," one X user posted.

Another wrote: "You can't chase immigrants and then invite them to build your economy."

Masiyiwa, through Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has built one of Africa's largest digital infrastructure companies. Manyika leads key artificial intelligence initiatives at Google, while Mupita heads MTN Group, Africa's largest mobile network operator, serving about 290 million subscribers.

Speaking this week, Ramaphosa acknowledged citizens' constitutional right to protest but also stressed that South Africa requires skills, investment and innovation from across the continent to advance its digital economy.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.