He was crude and insensitive in bring up the specific case of Manuel from Mozambique, but would he be Zuma otherwise. Nevertheless, he does have a point in this:
Zuma said a frank conversation on illegal immigrants needed to take place within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as the African Union.
And in that regard, it is important to make a difference between "economic refugees" and "people who need protection". I have, for example, noted that some people will point to the fact that Kenya or this or that country hosts this or that number of refugees. But they do not take into account that in Kenya, say, such people are confined in very unpleasant conditions, in a dusty place that even most Kenyans have no use for. That is very different from having people all over the place, doing all sorts of things.
Before the Emotional Brigade storms out of its barracks: In no way am I saying that illegal immigrants in South Africa have not been badly treated or that they should not be protected against nasty & unwarranted attacks or that South Africans should not be better educated ....