A shop owner said looters "stormed his shop" and even took an ATM machine during the unrest.
One of the managers assesses the damages at the premises of a looted convenience store in Durban, on Jul 1, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Marco Longari)
02 Jul 2026 02:21AM
DURBAN, South Africa: Ransacked shelves and discarded packaging were all that remained inside several shops near the port city of Durban on Wednesday (Jul 1), which were looted during protests demanding that undocumented foreign nationals leave South Africa.Several thousand people marched across the country Tuesday after a weeks-long campaign led by fringe groups for illegal migrants to go home by June 30, a push that had already led thousands to flee. Police were out in force for the protests, announcing Wednesday that most were peaceful but around 900 people were arrested over the day, some for looting.In Clermont outside Durban, looters stripped shops of food, appliances, building material and clothing following the demonstrations, the owners said.Some estimated losses running into millions of rand, saying they were uncertain whether they would be able to reopen.Mohamed Abdul, 29, said a large group of protesters stormed his shop selling food, hardware and clothing at around 6pm Tuesday (Wednesday, 2am, Singapore time)."We are not illegal in the country but they just started looting. I was scared and felt betrayed because we had 19 people employed here but today they have no job," Abdul said."The protesters were screaming at us and calling us names in Zulu," he said. Originally from Somalia, Abdul said he had been based in the area for 11 years. "The community knows me and this is one of the main stores people rely on and we used to donate to families who have nothing."The looters even took an ATM machine that had been inside the supermarket, he said, but the safe was left outside.
