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Anti-immigration protests intensified across South Africa on Thursday as demonstrators went door-to-door in parts of Johannesburg, forcing suspected undocumented migrants from their homes and handing them over to police, raising fresh concerns over rising xenophobic tensions in the country.
In Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg, protesters broke into homes believed to be occupied by undocumented foreign nationals. Those detained were escorted to waiting police vehicles, including a Malawian woman and her young child.
One of those apprehended, Zimbabwean national Total Mhlanga, maintained that he was legally resident in South Africa.
“I am a Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holder,” Mhlanga said, referring to the special permit that allows thousands of Zimbabweans to live and work legally in South Africa.
Similar operations were carried out in Soweto, where demonstrators marched through the township carrying sticks and flags before conducting house-to-house searches for undocumented migrants. Another anti-immigration protest was also held in the coastal city of Durban.
The latest demonstrations come amid growing anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa, where persistent unemployment and economic hardship have fuelled hostility towards foreign nationals. The protests followed an unofficial June 30 deadline issued by anti-immigration groups demanding that undocumented migrants leave the country.
The campaign is being led by March and March, an advocacy group headed by former radio presenter Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. Following demonstrations held on June 30, Ngobese-Zuma announced that similar protests would take place every Thursday until the group’s demands are met.
The organisation has blamed undocumented migrants for many of South Africa’s economic challenges and is advocating stricter border controls, mass deportations and priority access to public services, including healthcare and education, for South African citizens.
“We are walking around doing door-to-door removing foreigners,” community leader Bongani Msomi said during Thursday’s protest in Alexandra.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly urged South Africans not to blame immigrants for the country’s deep-rooted socio-economic problems. His administration has also stressed that immigration enforcement remains the responsibility of law enforcement agencies and not private citizens.
As tensions escalate, police have intensified operations targeting undocumented migrants while deploying additional personnel to monitor demonstrations and maintain public order. Authorities in Johannesburg had not issued an official statement on Thursday’s incidents or the conduct of officers present during the operations.
The unrest has also prompted a growing wave of voluntary returns to neighbouring countries. The Malawian government said more than 38,000 of its citizens have returned home from South Africa in recent weeks over safety concerns, while over 60,000 Zimbabweans have also reportedly left the country amid fears of escalating anti-immigrant violence.
