From the time he set foot in Harare’s National Sports Stadium, it was clear South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wasn’t going to get a free pass from the crowds. He was met with disapproving noises, unlike the raucous applause afforded to former president Jacob Zuma, or former Nigerian president Olesegun Obasanjo, or Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, the first to declare three days of mourning after Mugabe’s death.

By the time Ramaphosa took his seat among the other black-clad dignitaries in the shade of the marquee, the booing – by a crowd who wore everything but black mourning clothes – was unmistakable. Those in the stands who weren’t part of the clumps of booing people in party colours, nodded their approval or joined in. It wasn’t hard to guess that this was about the pockets of attacks in South Africa – coupled with xenophobic song and slogans – on foreigners from other African countries in the past few weeks.

Zimbabweans are keenly aware of the attacks as almost everyone here knows a Zimbabwean who is among the possibly million or more from this country living and working in South Africa. Ironically, they are there as part of the downturn in the economy under Mugabe’s almost 40-year rule. Zimbabwe’s new president Emmerson Mnangagwa has been unable to arrest the economic downturn since assuming power nearly two years ago. So on the Beitbridge border there are many touts ready to help the busloads of Zimbabweans entering or leaving South Africa “fix” their passport “problems” with the help of immigration officials – at a fee of course. While South Africa’s immigration policy makes provision for refugees, there is no help for desperate economic migrants, and many have resorted to living below the radar to work and make money to send to family back in Zimbabwe.

By the time Ramaphosa stepped up to the podium to pay homage – like all the speakers before him – to Mugabe’s pan-African leadership, the booing was so loud he couldn’t be heard in the stands. This even as the 60 000-capacity stadium was at most a quarter to a third full. Organised groups of young people dressed in Zanu-PF colours and T-shirts with Mnangagwa’s face on them were making gestures of shooing Ramaphosa away, or the soccer substitution sign, while others blew on vuvuzelas.

Father Kennedy Muguti, who did the official prayer at the service, spoke for a minute or two in an effort to silence the crowd.

Ramaphosa – who frequently uses an iPad for his speeches – read from a speech printed on white A4 papers, stapled together in the top left hand corner. It informed the restive crowd that Mugabe stood by South Africa “in our darkest hour” during the struggle. “Under his leadership, Zimbabwe gave both moral and material support to us by the time our leadership was forced into exile and our people were under the yoke of apartheid,” Ramaphosa said, but upon hearing these words, the crowd started booing him away again.

They allowed him to say a few sentences but jeered again when Ramaphosa said Mugabe “was a committed pan-Africanist, unwavering in his belief in the destiny and fortunes of Africa. He was an African hero.” From behind, someone handed Ramaphosa a little bright green notebook, and instead of sticking to his prepared speech he skimmed through the printed A4-pages, which thanked Mugabe and the people of Zimbabwe for their contribution to South Africa before  he turned to the little green book and starting his apology, including a little of the “it’s-not-xenophobia-but-criminality-and-anyway-South Africans-died-too” spin the government has been trying to sell to the world in the past week or two.

“We would like to say to the people of Zimbabwe, in the past two weeks we as South Africans have been going through a challenging period. We have had acts of violence erupting in some parts of our country, some of which was directed at nationals from other African countries.

“This has led, as I can hear you are responding to, the deaths and injuries of a number of people, some of whom were nationals from other countries, and the majority of which were South Africans.

“I stand before you as a fellow African to express my regret and to apologise for what has happened in our country,” he said.

Suddenly, surprisingly, as if someone has flipped a switch, the crowd erupted in cheers. It was as easy as saying “sorry”.

Ramaphosa continued: “What has happened in South Africa goes against the principles of the unity of the African people that President Mugabe and President Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and the great leaders of our continent stood for.

“I stand before you fellow Zimbabweans, fellow Africans, to say we are working very hard to encourage all our people in South Africa to embrace people from all African countries.”

Turning to the dignitaries on stage, he said: “Your excellencies, I would like to thank you for the support you have offered us as South Africans during this difficult time. I would like to state it here and now that South Africans are not xenophobic. South Africans are not against nationals from other countries. We welcome people from other countries and we are going to work very hard that we encourage and promote social cohesion of all the people of South Africa, working and living side-by-side with people from other parts of our continent.

“This we shall do because we want to embrace the spirit of unity that President Mugabe worked for throughout his life.”

Calling Mugabe by his clan name, Gushungo, Ramaphosa ended off with some Shona words, wishing Mugabe to rest in peace by saying “hamba kahle” and “lala ngokuthula”.

There were more loud cheers and vuvuzelas as Ramaphosa appeared to have been let off the hook.

The Afrophobia attacks couldn’t have come at a worse time for Ramaphosa, who is trying to prove his mettle internationally during a year when South Africa is very much in the spotlight. In a few months Ramaphosa will be stepping up as African Union chairperson in Addis Ababa during the continental body’s summit in January. South Africa also took up a two-year seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council at the start of this year. Things are so bad at home, though, Ramaphosa has delegated international relations minister Naledi Pandor to face the UN General Assembly in his stead later this month.

The state visit by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari next month will perhaps be Ramaphosa’s next big charm test.

Meanwhile in Zimbabwe millions of people are struggling as the flailing economy and a raging drought has the country without power for at least half of each day. Is South Africa capable of reciprocating with help during this former frontline state’s darkest hour? DM