South African Politicians Who Use Xenophobia to Garner Votes Are Playing a Perilous Game

Ihsaan Haffejee/GroundUp

A street vendor was attacked when hundreds of people marched through the streets of Pretoria, protesting against the presence of undocumented immigrants in South Africa and high unemployment. Led by March and March, the protest was joined by ActionSA and anti-immigrant vigilantes Operation Dudula.

24 May 2026

Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)

By Stephen Grootes

Events in Durban and Joburg last week showed again the political power of prejudice against migrants. The temptation by politicians who have failed in our cities to use this issue in local elections is growing stronger. Nothing good will come from this.

Over the last few months, the March and March movement has held regular protests in the Durban CBD. Last week, a group of foreign nationals, saying they feared for their lives, camped outside the Durban Central Police Station.

Their leaders said they felt it was the one place where they would be safe.

But police refused to allow them to stay and used physical force to disperse them. This led to anguish, with women pleading for help.

They then went to the Diakonia Centre, saying they wanted to speak to officials at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

On Thursday, several people from March and March and MK arrived at the Diakonia Centre, telling television reporters they were there to see what was happening.

As if by magic, a large crowd gathered, waving South African flags and chanting anti-immigrant slogans.

Inside the Diakonia property were the foreign nationals, and outside was a growing group of people who seemed to want to use physical force against the foreign nationals. Many of the foreign nationals were recording this on their phones.

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