The African Meridian Newsroom · Johannesburg, South Africa · 1 July 2026
Thousands of people marched through South African cities this week to demand the departure of undocumented foreign nationals, capping weeks of citizen-led demonstrations that set an unofficial June 30 deadline for migrants without papers to leave the country — a campaign that has already sent tens of thousands fleeing and left at least four people dead.
In Johannesburg, South Africa’s financial capital, most shops shuttered and transport hubs sat quiet as crowds moved through the city centre watched by police in bulletproof jackets and riot helmets; security forces were seen escorting foreign nationals away from a mob brandishing sticks near the city. In Durban, protesters turned out in traditional Zulu warrior attire, some carrying spears and shields. In Cape Town, roughly 100 marchers passed a smaller counter-protest against xenophobia.
Demonstrator Brightness Gumbi, 48, told AFP she joined the march out of economic frustration. “The illegal foreigners manage to pay it because they sell drugs to our people,” she said, referring to business rents she says she cannot afford. “I hope through these demonstrations our president will hear our cries and enforce stricter laws.” Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the anti-immigrant March and March group, told a crowd in Durban that the movement wants “mass deportation” over the next six months.
Analysts describe the anti-migrant campaign, arriving ahead of local government elections in November, as tapping into real economic grievances — South Africa’s unemployment rate sits above 30 percent — while unfairly scapegoating foreign nationals for broader governance failures. Labour analyst Dale McKinley said the push has been “politically weaponised” ahead of the vote.
The human cost of the campaign has been immediate. Authorities said more than 25,000 people had been processed for departure in recent weeks, as several African governments — including Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique — organised voluntary repatriation flights and buses for their citizens, the first time multiple governments have coordinated simultaneous repatriations in response to unrest inside South Africa. In Cape Town and Johannesburg, hundreds of migrants, mostly Malawians and Zimbabweans, gathered to wait for transport home after landlords evicted them or employers dismissed them out of fear of fines or vigilante attacks.
“The people in South Africa, they don’t want us here. I’m scared,” said a 23-year-old Zimbabwean woman awaiting a bus out of the country, who asked not to be named.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced expanded government measures against illegal immigration and called on traditional leaders to help calm tensions, as memories linger of past violence — including riots in 2008 that killed 62 people, and unrest five years ago that left around 350 dead. As of Tuesday, the government had mounted a large security deployment nationwide in an effort to prevent a repeat.