Anti-immigrant protests grow in South Africa: Police intervene, thousands flee

As protests against undocumented immigrants intensify in South Africa, police have taken to the streets and many businesses have shut down. While the government denies the threats, thousands of foreign nationals have left the country.

Scraper SystemJune 30, 2026, 10:13 PM

Anti-immigrant protests grow in South Africa: Police intervene, thousands flee

Businesses shut their doors and police deployed to the streets during anti-immigrant protests in several cities across South Africa. Groups gave undocumented foreign nationals until Tuesday to leave the country, claiming that arrests and deportation procedures would otherwise begin.

The government dismissed these threats as baseless. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Monday that the right to protest does not give "the freedom to threaten people, intimidate them, or engage in acts of vandalism and violence." Ramaphosa stated, "Regardless of the reason, taking the law into one's own hands is lawlessness."

Al Jazeera correspondent Haru Mutasa, reporting on a protest in Johannesburg, noted that the demonstrators were South Africans from both the working and middle classes, representing different tribes of the country. Mutasa said, "They all have one goal: They want the government to do something about undocumented foreigners in the country. They say they hear promises but see no change on the ground, and they question why they cannot find jobs even though some are university graduates."

Some protesters marched in the Yeoville and Hillbrow areas, where many African immigrants live alongside locals. Mutasa said that protest leaders initially tried to coordinate the marches and keep them peaceful, but some groups broke away, causing chaos, attempting to break windows, and making it difficult for police to intervene.

A group reportedly headed toward a major highway, while another set fire to a garbage container where homeless people lived in Yeoville. Mutasa said, "Police descended on the area in large numbers, and some soldiers also arrived and dispersed the crowd."

The protests, which began with small gatherings in April, have grown in recent weeks. According to the AFP news agency, at least two Mozambicans, one Ethiopian, and one Malawian have been killed in weeks of xenophobic attacks in the country.

Although groups say they are targeting undocumented immigrants, foreigners legally in the country are also at risk. Thousands of foreign nationals have set up camps outside consulates and shelters for protection. Some say their landlords and employers have evicted or fired them for fear of punishment or attack.

Many foreign nationals have already left the country. Some left on their own, while others sought help from their embassies. Several African countries have sent planes and buses to evacuate their citizens.

With elections approaching in November, some political parties are calling for peaceful protests, while other politicians are increasingly using anti-immigrant rhetoric. South Africa has a history of xenophobic violence; 62 people died in riots in 2008, and new attacks occurred in 2015 and 2016. In 2019, at least 12 people were killed when armed groups attacked businesses owned by foreigners around Johannesburg.

Anti-immigrant protests grow in South Africa: Police intervene, thousands flee