For months, anti-migrant rhetoric had been building across South Africa. Then it reached Kaunga Nyirenda’s doorstep.
In early June, two men gave the Malawian gardener, who lives in a Johannesburg suburb, a chilling ultimatum: leave now or face death.
“They asked me: ‘When are you going to leave the country? We want to fix our country. If you don’t leave now, you’re going to leave in a coffin because we don’t need anyone after 30th of June,’” he said of the ultimatum.
Nyirenda’s experience reflects a broader surge in anti-immigrant sentiment. In recent weeks, protest groups and self-styled vigilantes, who insist their rallies are peaceful, have staged demonstrations that have appeared to spark violent attacks on both documented and undocumented foreign nationals who are being blamed for taking jobs from South Africans, committing crimes and straining public services.
The South African government has rejected the so-called “deadline” made by the groups for foreigners to leave the country, as fears grow of a violent climax at the end of the month.
