A protester is detained after being accused of stealing from a fellow protester during an anti-migrant protest in Alexandra near Johannesburg on July 16, 2026. Protest organisers and participants have vowed to continue holding demonstrations every Thursday as part of an ongoing anti-migrant campaign. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
South African police said on Friday they had arrested 69 people after an anti-immigrant protest on the country’s southeast coast descended into looting and left at least one person hospitalised.
South Africa has been swept by weeks of protests and unrest targeting undocumented immigrants, causing tens of thousands to flee the country.
Nearly 150,000 people have left the country in recent weeks, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by African countries that have repatriated their nationals.
Police said the protest in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape province was organised by anti-migrant group March and March.
