Protesters stopped outside buildings believed to house undocumented migrants and urged residents to leave as thousands marched across South Africa on Tuesday, the deadline set by anti-immigration groups for foreigners without papers to leave the country.
Issued on: 01/07/2026 - 10:56Modified: 01/07/2026 - 10:57
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Widespread demonstrations were accompanied by isolated violence and arrests, while organisers renewed calls for mass deportations and vowed to keep up pressure on the government. Police mounted a major security operation in multiple cities – deploying soldiers overnight in Johannesburg and Durban after isolated unrest as authorities feared a repeat of the deadly unrest that swept the country in 2021. "We want mass deportation," Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the anti-immigration March and March movement, told supporters in Durban, where the largest demonstration took place. "For the next six months we want the government to get rid of the people who have not left." South Africa braces for violence as anti-migrant marches reach boiling point Durban tensions In Durban, several thousand people marched largely peacefully despite a tense atmosphere, RFI's correspondent reported. Many were wearing traditional Zulu attire carried spears, shields and whips. As the march passed through usually busy streets that had largely emptied for the day, protesters repeatedly stopped outside buildings they believed housed undocumented migrants and called on residents to leave. Outside one apartment building, demonstrators shouted towards residents they believed were living there without legal status. "We know they live there. We know these buildings well. They have to leave," one protester said. "We've told them they must leave before 30 June. We're telling them politely. We're not going to kill them. They just have to leave."
