President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday warned scores of ANC supporters that chasing away foreign nationals may lead to South Africans being targeted.
Ramaphosa visited Katlehong to address the crowds about the latest xenophobic violence.
"This South Africa is for all of us and we won't change that... We must work together because there is a lot of things that we need to fix," said Ramaphosa.
He said the latest crime statistics showed that South Africans were killing each other. The president said there was a need to unite in the same way they had against apartheid to defeat crime.
Katlehong is one of the areas that saw an upsurge in xenophobic violence around Gauteng.
Ramaphosa was flanked by other ANC leaders, including secretary-general Ace Magashule, his deputy Jessie Duarte and Gauteng premier David Makhura.
Deputy state security minister Zizi Kodwa and ANC national executive committee member, Dakota Legoete, were also among the party leaders present.
"Let's not take law into our owns hands, and attack others... Let's sit down and talk," said Ramaphosa.
He urged residents to unite against drugs, crime and gender-based violence.
"Let's go and fight against drugs, the killing of women. Let's fight against rape. We must take a vow as the brave men of South Africa that we are going to end gender-based violence.
"We must take a vow that we are not going to allow anybody to rape anyone, we are not going to allow the killing of women in our country," said Ramaphosa.
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