Groups opposed to immigration in South Africa went to the homes of foreigners in Johannesburg on Thursday and handed them over to the police.
There has been an escalation of the protests, which has created fear in local communities and led to strained relations with certain countries, Reuters reports. According to reports, more than 100,000 African immigrants may have been driven out of the country.
South Africa has experienced a sharp increase in anti-immigration sentiment in recent months. This culminated in nationwide protests on 30 June – an unofficial deadline set for undocumented immigrants to leave the country.
Two immigrants from Nigeria were recently killed, one of whom was reportedly shot dead by the police.
To nigerianere drept i Sør-Afrika etter økende protester mot innvandrere
In Johannesburg, groups of black South Africans have been going door to door in search of foreigners they want expelled from South Africa.
In the Alexandra district of Johannesburg, a reporter witnessed demonstrators forcing open doors and entering homes where they suspected illegal immigrants were hiding. The people they found were then escorted to police vehicles.
Among them were a woman and a small child from Malawi. A man from Zimbabwe who was stopped by the demonstrators told Reuters that he had the legal right to remain in the country.
Similar demonstrations took place in Soweto and Durban. In Soweto, demonstrators marched carrying sticks and flags. Leaflets distributed ahead of Thursday’s action described it as a “peaceful march”, followed by going “door to door”.
“We are going around knocking on doors to remove foreigners,” local leader Bongani Msomi said during a demonstration in Alexandra.
The demonstrators argue that immigrants are taking their jobs in a country with extremely high unemployment. Conflicts between different tribes and clans are also contributing to the unrest.
The group March and March is one of those behind the protests. Its leader, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, has vowed to stage new protests every Thursday until the group’s demands are met. March and March is calling for stricter border controls, mass deportations, and for schools and healthcare institutions to prioritise South Africans.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned against making immigrants scapegoats for the country’s deep-rooted problems. The government has also repeatedly stated that private citizens must not take the law into their own hands.
At the same time, however, the police have increased the number of arrests of illegal immigrants.
The Malawian government says that more than 38,000 of its citizens have returned from South Africa in recent weeks because of the security situation. More than 60,000 people have also returned to neighbouring Zimbabwe.