South African Police Report Over 50,000 Arrests of Undocumented Migrants Since January as Protests Continue

South African police stated that more than 50,000 undocumented migrants have been arrested in the country since January, with over 25,000 people repatriated by African governments since the start of recent unrest. The 2022 census recorded approximately 2.4 million foreigners living in South Africa.

Demonstrations took place in multiple cities, including Durban, where organizers called for migrants without legal status to leave. Police and private security maintained a presence with armored vehicles and helicopters during the Durban march. President Cyril Ramaphosa met with some protest leaders on June 29 and issued a warning against vigilantism.

A 29-year-old Malawian national was killed by a mob in Pietermaritzburg following a protest on June 19. Jackson Makungwa, a 29-year-old Malawian who had lived in South Africa for 10 years, departed around June 30 after a friend was attacked, leaving behind a two-month-old son born to a South African mother.

Lydia Mpingashato, a Zimbabwean who had resided in her township for 17 years, was dismissed from her job as a cleaner on June 27 and left with her 17-year-old son.

Nkosi Ndlovu, a 48-year-old pastor at the Durban march, stated that immigrants were selling drugs. Mfundo Zulu, age 40, said immigrants were taking jobs from South Africans by accepting lower wages. Leon, an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who has lived in South Africa since 2014, went into hiding after his shop was attacked on June 19.

Previous incidents of violence against foreigners in South Africa include riots in 2008 that killed 62 people and displaced more than 150,000, and attacks in 2015 that left at least five people dead.