Anti-immigrant marches in major cities nationwide, sometimes peaceful with sporadic violence, looting

March organizer have threatens weekly protests demanding that undocumented migrants leave by Tuesday, June 30

Thousands of African foreign nationals had already fled South Africa

Among those still in the country, their businesses are closed and foreign workers stayed home in anticipation of further trouble after months of unrest

At least five people have been reported killed, thousands of foreigners driven from their homes, their businesses and property vandalized since the March on March protests started

Some politicians have condemned violence, while acknowledging concerns expressed by the protesters

Demonstrations called by the ‘March and March’ movement marking an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, in Durban, on June 30. Protest leader Jacinta Ngobese announced anti-immigrant protests scheduled every Thursday

Anti-immigrant protesters draped in flags and wielding wooden weapons marched ​across cities in South Africa on Tuesday to mark a deadline they had set for undocumented migrants to leave, with some marches hit by violence ‌and looting.
Businesses are shuttered with police deployed to the streets in major cities, as thousands of South Africans embark on anti-immigrant protests around the country as they insist that “People are not working, the jobs are being taken by illegal foreigners.”
Extremist anti-migrant groups, the best known being a group known as March and March led by 40-year-old former radio broadcaster turned activist, Jacinta Nogobese Zuma, have demanded undocumented foreigners leave the country by June 30, 2026.
The groups have accused of falsely claiming that the government mandated all undocumented immigrants voluntarily self-deport by the deadline of June 30, 2026, or face arrest and deportation.
The Government of President Cyril Ramaphosa has since debunked the mandate, stating the South African government issued no such order.
Leading up to the marches today’s deadline, thousands of African foreign nationals had already fled South Africa.
Among those still in the country, their businesses are closed and foreign workers stayed home in anticipation of further trouble after months of unrest brought international condemnation.
Despite thousands of security personnel deployed and ​the military were on standby so far at least four people have been reported killed and thousands of foreigners have been driven from their homes and seen their businesses and property vandalized.
The leaders of the anti-migrant movement have said they would hold weekly marches until their objectives are met.
“For ​the next six months, we are asking for our national resources to be used to take the illegal immigrants out of this country. From building to building — they ​must go,” Jacinta Ngobese, leader of the March and March group, said in the port city of Durban

Waves of coordinated and sometimes unwieldy protests are taking place in across the country, despite government warnings that march organizers would be held responsible should the protests turn out not to be peaceful and heavy preemptive security presence in most cities

Migrants have interpreted the deadline as a physical threat, and there were scattered signs of violence, although many marches ​were peaceful. Police said they had arrested some looters.
In Thembisa, a northern suburb of the main commercial hub of Johannesburg, rioters threw stones at police and suspected migrants, while sporadic gunfire could be heard near the central business district.
Police deploying tactical vehicles and firing shots in Benoni, eastern Johannesburg, after being threatened by 500 protesters.
While the protest organizers said the protests would be peaceful, local media reports say the protests have largely been peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting.
In the township of Soweto, it has been reported that protesters looted shops owned by foreign nationals, as police arrested five people for the looting of a foreign-owned shop.
In Johannesburg, the country’s largest city and financial capital, shops in the city center were closed, while heavy police presence on major streets.
The military has been deployed in Hillbrow, a Johannesburg suburb with high African migrant presence, following reports of a teenager being shot and a car being torched.
In Yeoville, another suburb with significant African migrant presence, protesters threw bricks, breaking the windows of some homes
In Germiston, less than ten miles from Johannesburg, demonstrators were reported marching into homes, evicting residents they suspected were foreign nationals, then handing them over to police, insisting authorities check their documentation.
About 10 people were also arrested for looting in KwaZulu-Natal province, a female protester was arrested for assaulting a police officer, while a male protester was arrested for “intimidation” following reports of assault on a foreign national.
In ​Pietermaritzburg, near Durban, police fired rubber bullets to disperse marches.

Anti-immigrant marchers walk through the streets of Johannesburg on the day of an unofficial deadline set by anti-immigrant groups for all undocumented migrants to leave, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 30

While Politicians have been accused of joining ​in the xenophobia to win votes at local elections due by November.
In anti-migrant attacks, which have recurred sporadically in South Africa since 2008, little distinction is made between those who entered legally and those who did not.
Protest organizers March and March maintains it cannot be ‌held responsible ⁠for spontaneous acts of anger by South Africans.
“Unfortunately, we can’t be in every single community telling them … how to behave,” Ngobese told Reuters in an interview two weeks ago.
Still the fallout of their rhetoric and actions has been devastating on black African immigrants, primarily – legal and illegal. There are reports of landlords in Durban and Johannesburg preemptively and illegally evicting foreign tenants ahead of the march for fear of their buildings being vandalized. according to a Reuters reports that At least 100 Congolese migrants were sleeping on the streets of Durban. Their leader said they had been chased out of their rentals.

Refugees queue outside the Malawian embassy waiting to be bused back home ahead of the June 30 deadline

Migrants line up with belongings outside the Zimbabwean Consulate amid fears of anti-immigrant violence ahead of a June 30 deadline

The marches drew many thousands of mostly poor or unemployed South Africans who blame foreign nationals for their hardships.
Immigrants are blamed for taking jobs, driving crime and putting pressure on public services — claims that social ​scientists say lack evidence.
Three decades since apartheid ended, South Africa remains unequal and a third of people are out of work or lack basic employable skills, a situation exacerbating chronic pervasive and systemic poverty.
Some critics have accused opposition politicians as well as the ruling party of either weaponizing or tacitly endorsing sentiments of xenophobia to win votes at local elections due by November.
The immigrant population stands at about 3 million or about 4.85% of the 65.45 million total, according to StatsSA, a relatively low percentage of the populace by global standards.
The wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, and what ⁠critics say is a failure by police to protect victims, have tarnished South Africa’s post-Nelson Mandela reputation as a defender of human rights and strained ties with other African nations.
Seemingly contradicting police laxity in protecting the rights African migrants, Deputy National Commissioner for Policing Tebello Mosikili, said 103 criminal cases had been opened against anti-foreigner vigilantes since March.
While South African officials note that Western countries face similar tensions over immigration, often fueled by divisive politics and misinformation, some South African politicians including Julius Malema, founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), party have echoed protesters’ concerns even while condemning the violence.
Addressing the issue on Monday President Cyril Ramaphosa said “South Africans’ … deep concerns about illegal ⁠immigration … are real ​and they deserve to be heard,” adding, “But the right to ​protest … does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence.”