South Africa deploys police, foreigners brace for violence as anti-immigrant protests begin

South African police deployed to prevent violence and looting by anti-immigrant groups, while hundreds of foreign nationals sought urgent assistance to leave.

Officers maintained a heightened presence in cities like Johannesburg and Durban, where many shops remained closed and streets were quieter than usual as residents took precautions. The protests, organized by a coalition of minor political parties and vigilante groups, have been amplified through social media channels, including disinformation campaigns debunked by AFP.

Migration ‘Weaponised’

One of the continent’s wealthiest countries, South Africa is a magnet for migrant labor while grappling with an unemployment rate above 30 percent, high crime, and a breakdown in services in many areas. Coming ahead of local government elections in November, analysts noted that the anti-migrant rhetoric has been “politically weaponized.”

“The xenophobic groups have got it wrong,” labor analyst Dale McKinley told AFP. “This is a problem of governance, corruption, and mismanagement.”

Evacuation Efforts Expand

Uganda announced an evacuation plan for nearly 750 of its citizens, as other African governments coordinated repatriation efforts. Thousands of people, mostly Malawians and Zimbabweans, gathered in Cape Town and Johannesburg awaiting assistance to return home. Some reported being evicted from housing or fired from jobs due to fears of vigilante retaliation.

“I decided to go to avoid being attacked,” said Malawian Peter Madsoan, 45, who was among several thousand gathered in Durban waiting for a bus home. “I am a breadwinner in Malawi,” said the builder. “It is better for me to go than to die in South Africa.”

Zimbabwean Evelyn Chinooneka, 29, described camping outside the Zimbabwean consulate in Cape Town for days with her 10-month-old baby, facing rain-soaked conditions. “It was raining. All the clothes are wet now. We need our buses to come,” she said of her four-year stint on a farm before being told to leave.

“We are not calling for violence… No one will be killed on the 30th of June and no looting will take place in our name,” said Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the anti-immigrant March and March group.

Government officials have ordered a massive security deployment to prevent a repeat of the 2021 unrest, which left 350 people dead. President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized traditional leaders’ role in calming tensions, while calling for stricter enforcement against illegal immigration.

“Whatever our concerns about undocumented migration, however legitimate the frustrations beneath them, we will not allow this province to be set alight a second time, whether by criminality or by xenophobia,” said KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli.

Historic patterns of violence date back to 2008 riots that claimed 62 lives, but this year’s crisis is distinct in simultaneous government-led repatriation operations. The June 30 deadline—set by anti-immigrant groups—has intensified both fear and displacement across the country’s urban centers.

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