Protesters stopped outside buildings believed to house undocumented migrants and urged residents to leave as thousands marched across South Africa on Tuesday, the deadline set by anti-immigration groups for foreigners without papers to leave the country.
Widespread demonstrations were accompanied by isolated violence and arrests, while organisers renewed calls for mass deportations and vowed to keep up pressure on the government.
Police mounted a major security operation in multiple cities – deploying soldiers overnight in Johannesburg and Durban after isolated unrest as authorities feared a repeat of the deadly unrest that swept the country in 2021.
“We want mass deportation,” Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the anti-immigration March and March movement, told supporters in Durban, where the largest demonstration took place.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
“For the next six months we want the government to get rid of the people who have not left.”
South Africa braces for violence as anti-migrant marches reach boiling point
Durban tensions
In Durban, several thousand people marched largely peacefully despite a tense atmosphere, RFI’s correspondent reported. Many were wearing traditional Zulu attire carried spears, shields and whips.
As the march passed through usually busy streets that had largely emptied for the day, protesters repeatedly stopped outside buildings they believed housed undocumented migrants and called on residents to leave.
Outside one apartment building, demonstrators shouted towards residents they believed were living there without legal status.
“We know they live there. We know these buildings well. They have to leave,” one protester said. “We’ve told them they must leave before 30 June. We’re telling them politely. We’re not going to kill them. They just have to leave.”
Some marchers said they believed the campaign was already producing results.
“At first I thought protesting wouldn’t change anything. Then I saw it was making a difference because undocumented migrants were leaving,” Sakhona, another demonstrator, told RFI.
Others expressed similar confidence.
“I think our fight is just, and we’re on the right track,” said Carol, welcoming what she said was the departure of 25,000 migrants and government promises of tighter immigration controls.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
One of the few migrants who had not remained indoors questioned the accusations against foreigners.
“We foreigners have worked hard to build our own businesses from nothing. So why are we accused of stealing jobs?” Nigerian shopkeeper Elanch told RFI.
South Africa accused of failing to crack down on anti-immigrant violence
Pressure maintained
Police intervened and ordered the crowd to move on after a man began responding to demonstrators from his balcony.
Officers also said they had opened an investigation after a foreign national died in Durban, apparently falling from the eighth floor of a building because he believed he was being chased.
Elsewhere in the city, Ngobese-Zuma also called for increased funding for border services and legislation reserving township economies for South Africans. Organisers said they would present a memorandum to the authorities.
Several African governments, including Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, continued organising voluntary repatriation flights and buses for their citizens.
According to the Justice Ministry, some 4,200 foreign nationals have recently been repatriated and another 419 deported.
(with newswires)
