A protest against illegal immigration in Durban on 20 May highlighted the rise in anti-immigrant tensions that have been building for months. Mozambique has stated that five of its citizens were killed in what it described as 'xenophobic attacks' in South Africa over the weekend, with efforts underway to repatriate hundreds more.
However, South African police have only confirmed the deaths of two Mozambicans in violence in the southern coastal town of Mossel Bay, marking the first killings officially linked to a wave of anti-migrant protests sweeping the country. A South African teenager was also killed, according to police, with reports indicating that dozens of shacks were set on fire, some while people were still inside.
Protests against undocumented foreign nationals have been escalating in South Africa in recent weeks, leading Ghana to evacuate approximately 300 of its citizens last week, while Nigeria has also announced repatriation plans. The Mozambique government's media office released a statement late on Monday stating that seven Mozambican citizens had died after violence erupted on Friday in Mossel Bay, about 380 kilometers east of Cape Town. Five deaths were directly attributed to the xenophobic attacks, while two others resulted from a road accident as they were traveling in a private vehicle back to Mozambique.
In contrast, South African police told AFP that only two Mozambican nationals, aged 27 and 43, were killed in an informal settlement near Mossel Bay, both suffering multiple injuries from assault. In the early hours of Sunday, police in the same area discovered the body of an 18-year-old South African who had been stabbed to death under unclear circumstances.
Mossel Bay's mayor, Dirk Kotze, expressed 'deep concern and dismay at the current xenophobic attacks where people have been murdered, houses burned and families displaced.' As the most industrialized economy on the continent, South Africa has long attracted both legal and undocumented African workers, who are sometimes accused by fringe groups of crime and taking jobs from locals.
The national broadcaster SABC reported that tensions in Mossel Bay erupted over allegations that undocumented migrants were being employed by construction companies. Local media indicated that about 55 shacks were set on fire. One Mozambican national, Dolinda Mabunda, told the Mossel Bay Advertiser: 'We were still inside when people started burning down our house. I just took what I could and I ran.' Another migrant, Silvino Chauque, told SABC: 'I will go back [home] because we are not safe. I have lost all my possessions in the unrest.'
The Mozambique government stated that 300 Mozambican nationals had returned home on Saturday. 'The remaining just over 500 have since been sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province, and as of ... 1 June, the process of their repatriation to Mozambique is already under way,' it added. After a citizen-led organization demanded that undocumented foreign nationals leave South Africa by 30 June, there have been reports of vigilante groups checking documentation and forcing small businesses run by non-South Africans to close. This action has no official backing and has been criticized by authorities.
Last month, hundreds of foreign nationals from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Somalia sought protection in the eastern port city of Durban, claiming locals were going door-to-door telling them to leave by the end of the month. Several countries, including Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, have urged their citizens in South Africa to exercise caution. South Africa has experienced repeated waves of xenophobic violence over the past decades, with the latest spike occurring as political parties seek support ahead of local government elections in November. In 2008, 62 people, including 21 South Africans, were killed in anti-immigrant riots that also displaced thousands. Further outbreaks followed in 2015 and 2016.
