South Africa Anti-Migrant Protests Drive Foreigners to Flee

These displaced individuals, primarily from Malawi and Mozambique, recounted their harrowing journeys. Many sought safety in mountains and dense bushes over the weekend before reaching community centers in small towns.

Thomas Vincent Baloyi, a Mozambican national residing in South Africa for nearly 16 years, shared his experience with AFP in Gansbaai, located about 110 kilometers southeast of Cape Town. “They told me, ‘You are a foreigner, you don’t belong in South Africa, so you must go,'” he recounted. Despite presenting his legal documents, the mob was indifferent. “They just chased us away like dogs,” said the 32-year-old, who works in construction and gardening. “We stayed in the bush until six in the morning.”

The violence erupted following weeks of minor protests against illegal foreign nationals, culminating in the town of Mossel Bay, 250 kilometers along the coast, where 55 shacks were set ablaze. South African police confirmed the deaths of two Mozambican nationals during these anti-foreigner demonstrations, contradicting Mozambique’s statement that five of its citizens perished due to xenophobic attacks.

Approximately 300 Mozambicans returned across the border on Saturday, with more expected to follow. These tragic events mark the first fatalities linked to the recent surge of anti-migrant unrest, incited by fringe groups accusing undocumented foreigners of contributing to crime and siphoning jobs and resources from locals.

Following an ultimatum set by an anti-illegal migrant group for undocumented individuals to leave by June 30, small groups armed with sticks, whips, and axes reportedly enforced this directive in various localities. In response, Ghana has repatriated 300 citizens, with more departures planned. Nigeria has also initiated emergency evacuation flights.

‘Dragged out’

Local councilor Msa Nomatiti described how mobs, indiscriminately targeting both legal and illegal foreigners, forcibly removed people from their homes in Gansbaai on Monday. Reports claimed that some groups roaming door-to-door were accompanied by police. By the end of that day, more than 500 individuals had fled.

Come Tuesday night, small clusters continued leaving informal settlements under the cover of darkness and rain, carrying their possessions to safer havens. “Some lost their passports due to beatings and being forcibly evicted,” Nomatiti noted. Government authorities intervened to assist with documentation and voluntary returns.

At the Gansbaai mosque, roughly 50 individuals clustered around large food buckets, sharing a single toilet and tap in the cramped space.

‘Better to go home alive’

In Kleinmond, closer to Cape Town, nearly 100 foreigners, mostly Malawian, found refuge at a community hall. Bags filled with clothes and bedding lined the walls as volunteers provided warm meals and locals contributed donations.

Michael Markson, a Malawian, recounted how landlords ordered non-South Africans to vacate immediately upon warnings that residents were hunting for foreigners. “So we fled to the bush at night,” he explained, exhausted.

In Standford, about 20 kilometers inland, another Malawian, Talibo Mbewe, has taken shelter in a community hall for two days. “Thieves have already stolen everything from us at home. It’s better to leave with nothing than to lose our lives,” he lamented.