Anti-migrant protests in Durban and Soweto turn violent over asylum ruling

Violence in Durban and Soweto

Protesters torched vehicles and looted foreign-owned shops in Durban and Soweto on Thursday, 8 October, as anti-migrant demonstrations turned violent. In Durban, protesters gathered outside a government refugee reception centre demanding that it stop accepting asylum applications, police fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds, and city-centre businesses shut their doors. In Soweto, residents initially gathered to demand the closure of spaza shops run by foreign nationals, then clashed with foreign shopkeepers near a Home Affairs office in Orlando West, and gunshots were heard. Police said reinforcements had been deployed to prevent further violence. Police counts of burned vehicles differed: BBC reported 14 in Durban and 10 in Soweto, police told AP that nine were set alight in Soweto, and Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, as quoted by Al Jazeera, said 10 were torched in Johannesburg and 14 in Durban.

Xolani Fihla, the metro police spokesperson, said the Soweto violence began after reports of shots fired toward protesters, which triggered retaliatory vehicle burnings. Describing the situation, he said:

The situation is a bit tense, but it has died down from the earlier violence that we did see during the day

The asylum ruling behind the unrest

The protests target a July Constitutional Court decision that removed procedural barriers to seeking asylum, including for people who entered South Africa irregularly, lacked asylum transit visas or missed reporting deadlines. Hundreds of people have since gathered at refugee reception centres, and Home Affairs directed offices to accept those applications, although officials acknowledged they were unprepared for the numbers. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration said after meeting on Wednesday night:

We confirm that all refugee offices were overwhelmed by the numbers of those coming for applications

The committee stressed that the ruling allowed people to have their claims assessed but did not automatically grant refugee status or permanent residence. Government spokesman William Baloyi told Reuters that people had deliberately spread false claims about the judgment, creating the impression that undocumented migrants would automatically be granted legal status. Speaking about the unrest, he said:

We are deeply concerned by what is going on now

Government response and arrests

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration held an urgent briefing on Thursday to address overcrowding at asylum offices. Authorities pledged to expand processing capacity, speed up decisions and strengthen identity checks. BBC reported that three foreign nationals were arrested in connection with an alleged assault on a protester in Durban, which preceded the Thursday demonstration. Dimpane condemned the destruction of property, and authorities promised to pursue those responsible.

Court ruling on the legal-sector code and the rand

On Wednesday the Gauteng High Court overturned a Black economic empowerment code for the legal sector, finding that Trade Minister Parks Tau failed to independently assess and justify the measures before approving them. The court did not rule on the code's constitutionality and referred the matter back to Tau for reconsideration. The code, promulgated in 2024, set a goal for large law firms to reach 50% Black ownership within five years, with Black women holding 25%. Deneys Reitz (formerly Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa), Bowmans, Webber Wentzel and Werksmans brought the challenge alongside the trade union Solidarity, whose chief executive Dirk Hermann called the ruling "a huge victory over the government's reckless racial policy". Tau's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The rand held steady on Thursday despite weaker-than-expected manufacturing data, supported by a subdued dollar. Factory output fell 4.3% year-on-year in August, after rising 1.1% in July, and decreased 3.1% month-on-month after a 2.2% rise in July.

Investors were assessing the likelihood of another US Federal Reserve interest rate hike this year.