Nigerian Envoy Denies Claims of Installation of Igbo King in South Africa

The Nigerian High Commission in South Africa has again repeated its stance that there was no attempt to install an Igbo king in South Africa.

The Deputy High Commissioner, Ambassador ALEXANDER TEMITOPE AJAYI, made the further clarification when he was pressed for answers over the recent protests by South Africans against Nigerians, particularly in the Eastern Cape province.

Ambassador AJAYI said what happened on March 14, 2026, is that the South Africans misunderstood the optics of an Igbo cultural event for an installation ceremony, stressing that there was no such attempt by the Igbo community in the area.

The Nigerian diplomat who made the clarification in an interview on Channels Television, also dismissed claims that the incident in March triggered the latest round of xenophobic threats and attacks against other African migrants in South Africa.

Speaking further in a television interview monitored in Lagos, TEMITOPE AJAYI said Nigerians in South Africa are not currently under attack by their hosts, describing recent incidents of xenophobia as isolated tension, which calls for caution.