(Protest in Durban – many businesses in the city are shut. Photo Credit: Punch News)
Thousands of anti-immigration protesters took to the streets across South Africa on Tuesday as demonstrations demanding the removal of undocumented foreigners began under heavy police presence, raising fresh concerns among foreign nationals, including Nigerians.
Videos shared online showed large crowds marching through Johannesburg, where protesters demanded that undocumented immigrants leave the country.
The protest followed an unofficial June 30 deadline earlier issued by anti-migration campaigners for undocumented foreigners to leave South Africa.
It was reported that police officers were deployed across the country over fears that the demonstrations could turn violent.
Ahead of the protests, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged demonstrators to refrain from intimidation, threats or ultimatums, saying the marches should remain peaceful even as his government acknowledged the need for immigration reforms.
It was reported that the demonstrations were largely peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting.
In Johannesburg, the city centre was said to be unusually quiet, with many businesses shut and police maintaining a strong presence on major roads, while some protesters reportedly threw bricks, smashing the windows of flats in Yeoville, a suburb with a large African migrant population.
Police also arrested five people in Soweto for allegedly looting a foreign-owned shop, while another five were arrested in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, over an alleged break-in at a tuck shop.
It was further reported that many people have already fled to escape vi0lence and intimidation, with South African police saying 25,000 people have been repatriated so far, most of them from other African countries.
One undocumented Malawian preparing to leave South Africa told reporters he was glad to be returning home but heartbroken to be leaving behind his four young children.
The demonstrations also coincided with growing fears among Nigerians living in South Africa. On Monday, dozens of Nigerians gathered at the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria seeking refuge over fears of possible xenophobic att@cks ahead of the June 30 protests.
Some said they felt safer at the embassy after reports of planned demonstrations, while others who had reported for evacuation remained stranded because they were not scheduled to leave on the latest flight.
The Federal Government has since continued its voluntary evacuation programme. Another batch of 271 Nigerians arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday aboard an Air Peace flight from Johannesburg and were received by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.
The latest evacuation forms part of the Federal Government’s efforts to assist Nigerians who have opted to return home as anti-immigration tensions persist in South Africa, with authorities continuing to monitor developments following the nationwide protests.
VIDEO: Thousands take to the streets across South Africa as anti-immigration groups enforce self-imposed June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country. pic.twitter.com/QthwkOxJRt
— LEADERSHIP NEWS (@LeadershipNGA) June 30, 2026
