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TikToker Maina Mal questions who benefits from Africans turning against each other
08th September, 2026 02:16 PM
TikToker Maina Mal has questioned who benefits when Africans turn against each other, sharing a theory about xenophobia across the continent.
She said she believes there could be a coordinated foreign operation deliberately creating xenophobia and called for the issue to be examined more closely.
“I have a theory about xenophobia in Africa, and I genuinely think it is worth interrogating,” Maina Mal said on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
She explained that the issue should also raise questions about who benefits when Africans are encouraged to turn against other Africans.
“It looks like there is some coordinated foreign operation deliberately manufacturing xenophobia across the continent. I do think we should ask who benefits from Africans being encouraged to turn against other Africans,” Maina Mal detailed.
“Remember that lecture about how Africa was conquered and governed through division? Nitawatafutia hiyo video because I think there’s a lot worth revisiting there,” Maina Mal said.
Maina Mal questions where the anger is directed
Maina Mal said she had noticed that when economic conditions become difficult, anger is often directed at other Africans instead of the systems and institutions responsible for those conditions.
She said this raises questions about who becomes the target during times of economic hardship.
“What strikes me is that, whenever economic conditions become unbearable, the anger is often directed horizontally (towards other Africans) rather than vertically, towards the systems and institutions responsible for creating those conditions,” Maina Mal said.
She questioned why migrants from countries such as Congo, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Somalia and Malawi often become targets. She instead pointed to multinational corporations, exploitative economic structures, corrupt institutions and wealthy expatriates as groups that may have more influence over the conditions locals face.
“Why is the Congolese migrant, Zimbabwean, Nigerian, Somali or Malawian person so often the target, rather than the multinational corporations, exploitative economic structures, corrupt institutions or wealthy expatriates who may have far more influence over the conditions locals are struggling with?” Maina Mal said.
Maina acknowledged that competition for jobs, housing and opportunities is real. However, she said migrants may be a visible sign of a larger problem rather than the cause of it.
She said xenophobia could either be deliberately engineered or exploited by people in power to divide Africans who could otherwise organise around shared interests. Maina said the focus should also be on who benefits when Africans are encouraged to see each other as enemies.
