South Africa was holding its breath on Tuesday as mass anti-immigration protests were held across the country, following a weeks-long campaign against foreigners that has seen at least four killed and tens of thousands fleeing for safety.
Durban protests and the 30 June deadline
In the coastal city of Durban, where violence had been expected, streets were unusually quiet and shops shuttered as tension hung thick in the air. Several thousand protesters in Zulu attire marched through the city centre, brandishing sticks and clubs and calling out "Abahambe!" ("They must go!" in isiZulu), the movement's rallying cry. Campaign groups behind the protests had given undocumented immigrants an arbitrary deadline of 30 June to leave the country.
In the days leading up to the deadline, thousands fled their homes, sleeping rough on pavements, in open fields, and in makeshift camps, hoping to be repatriated. Several African governments organised buses or planes to bring their citizens home, with police reporting more than 25,000 repatriated so far.
Violence and displacement in Pietermaritzburg
In Pietermaritzburg, 50 miles from Durban, where a 29-year-old Malawian national was killed by a mob after a protest on 19 June, hundreds of families camped for days outside an abandoned building. On the eve of the 30 June protests, a queue snaked through the overgrown garden as weary mothers and children sat around campfires while people loaded belongings into buses headed for South Africa's northern border.
Jackson Makungwa, a 29-year-old Malawian, stood in line with two small bags, everything he could carry from 10 years building a life in South Africa. He had lived legally but was unable to renew his work permit for two years. "It's not like I want to be illegally in the country, but the system doesn't allow me to be here legally," he said. After a friend was attacked by seven men, he decided to leave. "They said the deadline is the 30th, so they will attack me if I stay," Makungwa added. He showed a photo of his two-month-old son, born to a South African mother, whom he had to leave behind.
Zimbabwean migrants also targeted
Lydia Mpingashato, a Zimbabwean migrant, was dismissed from her job as a cleaner and threatened while waiting for a taxi in the township where she lived for 17 years. "He said he would burn my house and kill my family," she said. "Now I have no plan; I'm just going home to be safe." Her 17-year-old son was forced to leave the only home he knew. "When he saw the camp, he told me: 'Actually, they never loved us,'" she said.
Many South Africans blame immigrants for high unemployment and crime. Philile Ntuli from the South African Human Rights Commission said, "Xenophobia and Afrophobia … emerge where economic insecurity, high unemployment, inequality, weak governance and poor migration management intersect." South Africa, home to about 2.4 million foreigners according to 2022 census data, has a history of anti-immigrant violence: riots in 2008 killed 62 and displaced over 150,000; attacks in 2015 left at least five dead.
Government response and ongoing tensions
In response, the government intensified its crackdown on undocumented immigration, with police arresting over 50,000 undocumented migrants since January. President Cyril Ramaphosa met protest leaders on Monday night and warned against "vigilantism." As marches began, heavy security was deployed: helicopters circled Durban, police and private security watched from armoured vehicles. Organisers urged peace, but some marchers made threats. One protester, Nkosi Ndlovu, a 48-year-old pastor, accused immigrants of selling drugs. "We have been talking nicely. Tomorrow, we're not going to talk. We take action," he said.
Mfundo Zulu, 40, said immigrants took jobs by accepting lower wages. "Those are our kids, our youth are dead," she said, pointing to a homeless camp. Since thousands fled, she said many jobs became available. "Life will be better now," her friend added. "We don't hate them, but they overstayed."
Fear and despair among refugees
Mukandjwa Shomri of the Southern Africa Refugee Organisations Forum said the government "is not doing enough" to hold perpetrators accountable. "When you try to open a case with the police, they will first ask for your papers," he said. "The hope many of us had as refugees … that South Africa is upholding human rights … is no longer there."
Leon, an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who has been in South Africa since 2014, went into hiding after his shop was attacked on 19 June. "Even the police are telling us openly that we are tired of you, you must leave our country," he said. Harassment had been common for years, "but now they got the opportunity to do it openly. After 30 June, it will be even worse." He regretted seeking refuge in South Africa. "Now, we're just living like somebody who is already dead," he said. "We are ready for anything."
