South Africa is preparing to tighten security nationwide ahead of a June 30 deadline set by anti-immigrant protest groups, which demands that undocumented foreigners leave the country. Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said on Monday that forces are deploying additional security across all provinces.
Weeks of xenophobic attacks have killed at least two people and forced several African nations to dispatch aircraft to repatriate thousands of their citizens fleeing the violence. Small but organized protest groups issued the ultimatum—lacking any legal basis—ordering undocumented migrants to depart or face consequences.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said the police service “has raised its operational readiness across all provinces, with comprehensive deployment plans to protect communities, critical infrastructure and key public spaces.” He affirmed the right to peaceful protest but warned: “Criminality, threats, violence, damage to property and any attempt to undermine public safety will not be tolerated.”
Defence Minister Angie Motshekga said the military would guard strategic sites like airports and remain ready to support police if needed.
South Africa, long a magnet for migrant labor, is grappling with unemployment above 30% and repeated waves of anti-foreigner violence, fueled by accusations that migrants commit crimes and steal jobs. Political parties such as the Patriotic Alliance, ActionSA and uMkhonto we Sizwe increasingly frame migrants as competitors for jobs and public services.
Mpho Makhubela, a member of the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA) and an activist at KAAX, said vigilante groups multiply due to widespread social frustration. “Vigilante groups capitalise on the country’s discontent with unemployment, socio-economic decline and the lack of effort to address inequality gaps,” he said.
In 2008, 62 people died in anti-immigrant riots, followed by violence in 2015 and 2016. In 2019, armed mobs attacked foreign-owned businesses around Johannesburg, killing at least a dozen people.
The latest tensions come ahead of local government elections scheduled for November 4. During last weekend’s voter registration drive, gunmen shot dead four people linked to political parties. Two were members of the opposition Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party led by Jacob Zuma, president from 2009 to 2018. A third victim was a ward candidate for the Democratic Alliance in Western Cape, while an African National Congress ward councillor was killed in Eastern Cape.
