More than 120 marches were held across the country, with people detained over incidents including looting and robbery, according to police
More than 900 people were arrested in South Africa during nationwide anti-immigrant protests held on Tuesday to mark a deadline set by groups demanding that undocumented foreign nationals leave the country, police have confirmed.
South African Deputy National Police Commissioner Tebello Mosikili told reporters on Wednesday that 120 marches were held across Africa’s most industrialized nation, with 108 ending peacefully and 12 requiring police intervention.
Mosikili said the arrests were made for offenses including immigration violations, public violence, harboring undocumented migrants, looting, and robbery.
“The majority of those arrested were illegal foreigners and looting as a result of law enforcement operations conducted alongside the protests,” she stated.
Police said one person was shot dead late on Tuesday in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township, where residents were looting small grocery shops owned by foreign nationals. Two other people were injured in a shooting in the inner-city neighborhood of Hillbrow, where soldiers were deployed to reinforce police.
The authorities have also announced an investigation into the death of a foreign national who reportedly jumped from the eighth floor of a building in the port city of Durban on the eve of the protests, after allegedly fearing he was being targeted.
The demonstrations were organized by groups including March and March, Operation Dudula, and Progressive Forces. The groups had set June 30 as an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, accusing them of taking jobs, running informal businesses, straining public services, and contributing to crime.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected the deadline, saying only the government can enforce immigration laws.
Ahead of the marches, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi warned against violence and intimidation targeting foreign nationals, adding that advocates and perpetrators of racism, Afrophobia, and xenophobia have no place in South Africa.
The protests followed weeks of unrest in parts of South Africa, where foreign nationals have reported harassment, evictions, and attacks. The police deployment was aimed at preventing a repeat of anti-immigrant violence in 2008, which reportedly left 62 people dead.
Thousands of migrants have fled or sought help from their embassies and consulates. Several African states, including Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Mozambique, have evacuated hundreds of nationals seeking to return home.
On Tuesday, Kubayi said the South African government had repatriated 4,286 people and deported another 419 in recent days.
