01/07/2026 07:43 - Internacionales
South African authorities deployed police units in cities nationwide ahead of planned demonstrations against undocumented foreigners scheduled for June 30, 2026. The operation aims to prevent looting and large-scale violence similar to the anti-immigrant riots of 2008 that left 62 dead.
The group March & March, founded in March 2025, set an unofficial deadline of June 30, 2026 for undocumented foreigners to leave South Africa. The movement leader, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, has led campaigns for mass deportation.
Ngobese-Zuma stated that the movement does not call for violence: No one will be killed on June 30 and there will be no looting in our name, she declared. However, migrants with legal documentation have also reported targeted harassment.
The group organized demonstrations in cities including Durban, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. On March 30, 2026, they led a demonstration in KuGompo City (formerly East London) after unconfirmed reports that a Nigerian man had been crowned king.
During weeks of May and June 2026, men carrying sticks and chanting abahambe (a word in isiZulu and isiXhosa meaning they must go) walked through businesses interrogating and beating migrants in Johannesburg and Durban.
Mozambique reported that five of its citizens were murdered in xenophobic attacks in late May. South African police confirmed that two Mozambicans and one South African died during a violence outbreak in Mossel Bay, on the southern coast.
In Kleinmond, approximately 100 people from Mozambique and Malawi sought refuge at the town hall after being alerted by an angry mob in an informal settlement.
2008: 62 people murdered during riots, including 21 South Africans. Over 150,000 displaced.
2015: At least 5 people killed in new outbreaks of xenophobic violence.
July 2021: More than 350 dead after the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma.
May-June 2026: New wave of marches and violence against migrants.
President Cyril Ramaphosa warned against anarchy and violence in a televised Sunday address.
He promised a tougher crackdown on illegal immigration and corruption within border authorities.
He emphasized that only state officials are authorized to demand proof of nationality.
2022 census data shows that the foreign-born population nearly tripled to 2.4 million between 1996 and 2022, representing 3.9% of the 62 million inhabitants. However, Ngobese-Zuma claims illegal immigration varies between 15 million and 30 million.
Criminal statistics show only a small fraction of crimes are committed by foreigners, contradicting the popular narrative from protest organizers.
| Year | Events | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Anti-immigrant riots | 62 |
| 2015 | Xenophobic violence wave | 5+ |
| 2021 | Post-Zuma riots | +350 |
| 2026 | March & March demonstrations | 5+ (Mozambique) |
Several governments including Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda have repatriated hundreds of their citizens before the June 30 deadline. On social media, images appeared showing dozens of Malawians camping in the cold outside their consulate in Johannesburg, waiting for processing and transport out of the country.
An Ethiopian businessman who has lived in South Africa since 2000, married to a local woman and father of a 19-year-old daughter, described the climate of terror: Every day and almost everyone I meet, they are with fear, extreme fear. The sad thing is that it is not because they are undocumented... No legal document will protect you from violence.
Sources: The Guardian (June 8 and 30, 2026), Reuters, Human Sciences Research Council, Lawyers for Human Rights.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
