Public relations expert and businesswoman Pearl Solo Mbewe has used her latest Sunday reflection to speak out against xenophobia, discrimination and violence in South Africa and called for greater unity among Africans.
Mbewe, the estranged wife of veteran actor Sello Maake kaNcube and founder of public relations company Wisdom Mobile Marketing Solutions, shared a heartfelt message on social media in which she celebrated her multicultural heritage and urged Africans to embrace one another despite national boundaries.
In the statement, Mbewe described herself as “proudly Zambian, proudly Zimbabwean and proudly South African”, saying her diverse roots are not a source of division but rather a reflection of the richness of her identity.
“I stand firmly against xenophobia, discrimination and violence in all its forms,” she wrote.
Mbewe said her personal story serves as a reminder that people are often much more than the borders that separate them.
“These roots do not divide me. They define the richness of who I am,” she said.
The communications specialist argued that Africa’s greatest asset has never been the borders inherited from history, but the people who continue to build the continent through their hard work, resilience and determination.
She paid tribute to entrepreneurs, workers, students, mothers and dreamers, saying all people deserve dignity, respect and humanity regardless of where they come from.
“The entrepreneur building a business, the worker seeking opportunity, the student pursuing knowledge, the mother raising a family, the dreamer creating a better future — all deserve dignity, respect and humanity,” she wrote.
Mbewe also warned that division and hatred would never create prosperous societies.
“We cannot build strong nations by tearing one another down. We cannot create prosperity through hatred. We cannot honour our African heritage while rejecting our African brothers and sisters,” she said.
As South Africa continues to grapple with recurring tensions around immigration and xenophobia, Mbewe called on people to choose compassion and understanding over fear and conflict.
“As we enter a new week, let us choose compassion over division, understanding over fear, and unity over conflict,” she wrote.
She further reminded her followers that humanity should come before nationality, quoting anti-apartheid intellectual Robert Sobukwe’s famous words that there is only one race — the human race.
Mbewe concluded her reflection with a biblical message from Psalm 133:1, which reads: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”
Her message has resonated with many social media users, who praised her call for tolerance, unity and respect at a time when debates around identity and belonging continue to dominate public discourse across the continent.
