South African cities shuttered as anti-migrant protest deadline triggers mass exodus

South Africa faced a nationwide shutdown on Tuesday as fears of violence overshadowed planned anti-immigrant demonstrations. The unrest was triggered by an ultimatum from groups like March and March, who demanded all undocumented migrants leave by June 30, a deadline widely interpreted as a physical threat.

A city in stasis

In Johannesburg and Durban, shopkeepers kept shutters down and buses ran empty. Landlords evicted foreign tenants, fearing their buildings would be vandalised. Witnesses described crowds of legal migrants sleeping on pavements after being forced out. "All these people, they were chased out by their landlords," said Mabako Majole, a leader of the Congolese community, standing beside 100 people camped in downtown Durban. "All these people are legal. They have documents."

The exodus

Over the preceding weeks, 25,000 foreign nationals from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and elsewhere had already left, many boarding buses chartered by their home governments or South African authorities. Makeshift camps in Durban swelled with families waiting for transport. John Allen, a 30-year-old Malawian, left his South African partner and their one-year-old son, saying he had two choices: "I can lose my life or I can leave." Katiija Rajab, a 36-year-old Malawian domestic worker, described children taunting her and asking when she would go home.

Security deployment

Police and military units were posted in several cities to keep order. Deputy National Commissioner for Policing Tebello Mosikili said the state had a duty to ensure demonstrations remained peaceful. The vigilance came after weeks of men armed with sticks and shields moving shop to shop, interrogating and beating migrants, and after at least five Mozambican nationals were killed, according to a statement from Mozambique.

Political response

President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the marchers' grievances while condemning violence. "South Africans' deep concerns about illegal immigration are real and they deserve to be heard," he said. "But the right to protest does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence." Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, the leader of March and March, insisted the demonstration would be peaceful and said no one would be killed in her group's name.

A history of violence

The current wave recalls the 2008 anti-migrant riots that left 62 people dead, and the July 2021 unrest that killed more than 350. Foreign-born residents make up an estimated 4% of South Africa's 62 million people, yet are often scapegoated in a country with one of the world's highest unemployment rates. Critics say the government has failed to protect victims, tarnishing the post-apartheid human-rights legacy and straining ties with the rest of the continent.