Heavy police presence was seen across South Africa on Monday, as anti‑immigration protesters marched in cities such as Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the crowds, urging them to keep their demonstrations peaceful and warning that intimidation, threats or ultimatums would be treated as criminal.
Organisers of the marches, many from the anti‑migrant group Operation Dudula, set an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country.
Over 25,000 migrants have been repatriated so far, most from other African states. Many have fled to escape violence and intimidation.
In Johannesburg the city streets were unusually quiet; shops in the city centre were shut and police visibility was high. A spokesperson said five people were arrested in Soweto for allegedly looting a foreign‑owned shop, while the same number were detained for breaking into a tuck shop in Hammarsdale.
In Durban a transit camp for dispossession‑pending migrants was rapidly dismantled by authorities, with women in colourful sarongs lining up to board buses back to Malawi. One man, Nelson Mbewe, told the BBC he was “happy to be going back” but heartbroken about leaving his four young children.
Hassan Phiri, another Malawian awaiting processing, urged South Africans to remember that Africa remains one continent, “without South Africa, with or without Malawi, with or without anywhere.”
Ramaphosa met protest leaders the eve of the marches to defuse tensions. He repeatedly warned demonstrators to act peacefully while also accepting the need for immigration reforms.
The president highlighted that many foreign nationals living in South Africa are there legally, contributing to the economy and deserving protection under the Constitution. He cautioned that the right to protest does not include intimidation, vandalism or violence.
Official figures list over three million documented foreign nationals in South Africa, but many more are believed to live without papers and have been subject to scrutiny. Police said about 50,000 migrants were arrested since January for being in the country illegally.
North‑south protests have led to the repatriation of over 12,000 migrants in the last six months—air and bus deportations from Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, with about 3,500 foreigners volunteering to leave.
There are concerns that the clash between protesters and police over weapons and security could ignite xenophobic violence; two people have been killed in 2024 and 2025, and more than 60 died during the 2008 riots.
