South Africa sees biggest anti-illegal immigration protests since 2008

Thousands marched across parts of South Africa against illegal immigration on Tuesday. The protests deepened fears of xenophobic violence and pushed more migrants to leave.

In Short

• Police reported isolated looting incidents and arrests as marches stayed mostly peaceful
• Government rejected activists' June 30 demand for undocumented migrants to leave
• Rights groups warned xenophobic misinformation could fuel more violence against migrants

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in parts of South Africa on Tuesday to protest against illegal immigration, in the biggest migration-related protests since the wave of anti-migrant violence in 2008. Authorities said the marches were largely peaceful despite isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting, and police said several people were arrested without giving a number.

The demonstrations came after some protest groups set a June 30 deadline for all migrants in the country illegally to leave. The South African government rejected that demand, saying only the authorities can enforce immigration laws. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has disputed claims that migrants are responsible for the country’s social and economic problems, met some protest leaders on Monday night and asked them to ensure peaceful demonstrations.

At a late-night press conference on Tuesday, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi praised the largely peaceful nature of the protests but warned against criminal acts. “Those who chose to exploit the marches to commit criminal acts will face the full might of the law,” she said. “Police will continue to identify, arrest and prosecute all those responsible for criminal conduct.”

The most prominent groups opposing illegal immigration include March and March, Operation Dudula and Progressive Forces. The activists accuse undocumented migrants of taking jobs from South Africans by accepting low wages and blame them for other problems, including crime.

Ngizwe Mchunu, one of the protest leaders, told AP that illegal migration had led to a spread of illicit drugs in South Africa. He also objected to the large number of informal neighbourhood shops run by immigrants from other African countries, saying they should be owned by South Africans. “It’s a very sad story that we have been telling our government since the dawn of democracy that illegal immigration here is out of hand,” Mchunu said. “It is time for our government to put South Africa first.”

Amnesty International South Africa said migrants, refugees and asylum seekers were being unfairly blamed for unemployment, inequality and struggling public services. The rights group said those problems were rooted in the legacy of apartheid, persistent inequality and failures in the asylum system, and warned that misinformation and xenophobia could lead to further violence against migrants.

In Johannesburg’s city centre, protesters included young men carrying traditional fighting sticks and women of different ages. Some wore the South African flag and sang liberation songs. They carried posters with slogans such as “SA withdraw from the U.N. refugee convention”, “The future of our kids” and “80% of children born in Limpopo province are born to foreign nationals”.

“Today is the last day,” protester Nkele Thebe said at the start of the Johannesburg march. “After today, we’ll be dealing with our president and our nation. We don’t want an outsider to come interfere.” Another protester, Bongani Cindi, said groups opposing illegal immigration were wrongly being branded xenophobic. “Our country has got a lot of problems. We have influx of illegal immigrants who are committing crimes that we can’t even take anymore. So we need them to leave us in peace, so we can sort our house. We are not fighting anyone,” he said.

Demonstrators also gathered in parts of Durban, with reports of more protests in parts of the North West and Free State provinces. Police deployed hundreds of officers in cities including Johannesburg in Gauteng province and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province in anticipation of possible violence. Previous marches against illegal immigration have led to attacks on migrants and damage to foreign-owned businesses. In Johannesburg, most shops owned by both foreign nationals and locals were shut before protesters arrived, while private security firms guarded businesses in some parts of the country.

The protests have also driven many migrants to seek transport home. Thousands of migrants, mainly from neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, gathered at their embassies and consulates to ask for help returning. Traffic increased in recent days at the Beitbridge checkpoint on the Zimbabwe border as buses carrying migrants left South Africa. Thousands of Malawian nationals also returned home from a temporary repatriation centre in Durban.

Three groups of Nigerian migrants returned to Nigeria this month amid rising anti-immigrant tensions, including 271 people who arrived in Lagos on Tuesday. Nigerian officials said 632 Nigerians had been repatriated out of more than 1,000 who had registered for voluntary repatriation, with more flights expected in the coming days.

Emmanuella Akagbosun, a 44-year-old who moved to South Africa in 2017, said she left because she feared being killed. She said the shop she shared with her sister was ransacked by anti-migrant protesters and their goods were looted. “We are not safe, so we had to leave,” Akagbosun said in Lagos. Fintan Opara, another Nigerian national who returned after 18 years in South Africa, said most Nigerians no longer felt welcome there.

Kubayi said South Africa had so far successfully repatriated 4,286 individuals and deported another 419 in recent days. The protests were mostly peaceful on Tuesday, but the demonstrations, the sharp debate over migration and the growing number of people leaving the country underlined the continuing tension around the issue in South Africa.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends