Shops, commercial centres, office buildings and public spaces were shut down across South Africa on Tuesday as residents stayed home while fears mounted that planned nationwide anti-migrant protests would descend into violence.
More than 25,000 people have already been repatriated in recent weeks as the South African government works to send home illegal migrants it says are taking jobs and resources from locals, Reuters reports.
Malawian nationals wait to board buses outside the Malawian Consulate General on June 29, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Malawian migrants are seeking refuge to escape a violent anti-migrant wave of anger and secure emergency transport home. (Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
Many in the wider community agree, saying they are fed-up with enforced “multiculturalism.”
They plan to take to the streets to make their anger plain at the influx of illegals who have been told to heed an unofficial ultimatum for undocumented foreigners to exit the country by June 30.
AFP reports several governments, including Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, have organised voluntary repatriation flights and buses after weeks of protests, looting and attacks targeting foreigners that have left four people dead.
Meanwhile the government in Pretoria, lead by President Cyril Ramaphosa, maintains the country will not tolerate illegal immigrants and reserves the right to send them all back to their country of origin.
“To date, more than 25,000 foreign nationals have been repatriated,” the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), which coordinates between the police, military and intelligence agencies, said.
A series of protest marches have been organised across the country as mobs have meanwhile gone from house to house telling migrants to leave or demanding to check their documentation, the AFP report outlines.
South Africa, a long-standing destination for migrant labour, is grappling with unemployment above 30 percent and a history of recurring anti-foreigner violence, often driven by locals who accuse migrants driving crime, taking jobs and draining government and taxpayer resources.
AFP contributed to this report
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