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Groups of anti-immigration protesters seized foreigners from their homes in Johannesburg on Thursday and handed them to police in a hardening of protests that have sown fear in communities and strained ties with some countries.In Alexandra, Johannesburg, a Reuters reporter saw protesters breaking down doors and entering houses where they believed undocumented immigrants were hiding.They escorted the people to police vans in which they were taken away, including a woman and a small child from Malawi. Another man who was apprehended by the marchers said he is in the country legally.“I am a ZEP holder,” said Zimbabwean Total Mhlanga, referring to the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit that allows tens of thousands of nationals to live and work in South Africa.In Soweto, anti-immigrant protesters marched through town wielding sticks and flags, with plans to search for undocumented immigrants. Several of the flyers for Thursday’s protests advertised a “peaceful march” followed by “door to door”. Another march took place in Durban.Read: Salga pushes for co-ordinated response to municipal challengesSouth Africa, with its millions of unemployed people, has seen a surge in anti-immigrant sentiment in recent months, culminating in nationwide protests on June 30, an informal deadline set for undocumented immigrants to leave the country.The most prominent leader of the movement, former radio presenter Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, said on that day that protests would take place every Thursday until demands were met.Her group, March and March, has painted undocumented immigrants as the source of South Africa’s economic problems and is demanding tighter border controls, mass deportation, and for schools and health centres to serve South Africans first.“We are walking around doing door-to-door removing foreigners,” said a community leader, Bongani Msomi, at the march in Alexandra.Read: Home affairs to recruit more immigration officers to bolster enforcementPresident Cyril Ramaphosa has warned against scapegoating immigrants for deep-rooted problems, and the government has repeatedly told citizens that they do not have the right to take immigration enforcement upon themselves.Police have stepped up arrests of undocumented migrants in response to the protests and have also deployed officers during recent marches for safety. A spokesperson for Johannesburg police was not immediately available for comment on the actions of the protesters or the officers at the scene.Malawi’s government said on Thursday that more than 38,000 of its citizens have returned from South Africa in recent weeks as part of a massive repatriation effort due to safety concerns. More than 60,000 have also returned to neighbouring Zimbabwe.Reuters
