Civil society organisations Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) and Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign accused the government of not doing enough regarding the ongoing anti-migrant hostility and forced evictions.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo/ ANA Studio
The government has been accused of doing nothing while anti-migrant hostility and forced evictions spiral out of control.
This is after civil society groups Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) and Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign, said the government is ignoring the humanitarian crisis and failing to protect refugees and migrants from forced evictions and vigilantism.
KAAX said this failure has placed hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers exposed to xenophobic violence, displacement and humanitarian crisis.
On the other hand, Siyafana Sonke has requested a meeting with the Presidency and the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Clusters (JCPS), demanding an immediate end to the ongoing violence, illegal evictions, and forced deportations targeting immigrant groups.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya did not respond. Home Affairs spokesperson Thulani Mavuso referred questions to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). However GCIS spokesperson Nomonde Mnukwa said the questions should be sent to Magwenya and chief director for JCPS, Mava Scott.
Scott said JCPS cannot discuss or share operational plans with third parties, adding that government is continuously engaging with its continental counterparts and are collaborating to manage repatriations orderly and lawfully.
The mass displacement of foreign nationals began over the weekend of May 30, 2026.
These efforts quickly escalated into a wave of violence by early June, forcing hundreds to seek refuge in community halls, mosques, the mountains, and nearby bush.
This sudden wave of displacements and evictions is tied to an anti-illegal migration movement demanding all undocumented foreigners leave the country by June 30. As tensions have spread, displacements have been widely reported across provinces, with thousands affected, particularly in the Overberg region (such as Gansbaai, Kleinmond, and Bredasdorp) in the Western Cape and parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
KAAX is a coalition comprising over 60 diverse organisations including Abahlali baseMjondolo, African Diaspora Forum, Treatment Action Campaign and Equal Education Law Centre.
Siyafana is a broad national coalition of more than 160 civil society organisations, trade unions, civic structures and social justice activists. The leading prominent anchors of this coalition include the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), Global South Against Xenophobia (GSAX) and Botshabelo Unemployed Movement.
KAAX said since the unrest began, the country has seen a drastic, terrifying rise in people being uprooted, unlawfully evicted, and left completely stranded in the open as they escape targeted vigilante attacks and xenophobic violence.
The organisation said women, including many who are pregnant, children, older persons and other vulnerable groups continue to bear the greatest burden of these crises, made all the worse in the middle of a winter freeze.
“Many have been stripped of their homes, livelihoods and access to basic services, while the state continues to neglect its constitutional and legal responsibility to protect every person within South Africa’s borders. How can those instigating this violence be so heartless? And how can a government in a democratic dispensation allow this to happen?”
KAAX spokesperson Mike Ndlovu also warned that when local communities take immigration law into their own hands, it frequently leads to profiling, unfair targeting, and the violation of legal rights for foreigners and citizens alike.
“The issue is, therefore, not whether undocumented migration should be addressed. It is whether such matters should be addressed through lawful state institutions or through vigilante action. KAAX maintains that only the former is compatible with constitutional democracy,” he said.
Siyafana has called on the government to provide shelters, security and basic necessities for those who have been displaced.
The coalition also demanded that the leaders of the March and March movement, Operation Dudula and others who led the recent anti-immigrant protests, to be arrested.
The organisation added that these leaders have not only stoked hatred by inciting xenophobic and tribalistic violence, but have also committed crimes of assault, intimidation, prevention of medical care, unlawful searches, and unlawfully demanding documents of suspected migrants, in full view of the public eye.
“This can no longer continue unabated. They must be arrested, tried and held accountable for their violent actions. Their targeted attack on migrants serves as an ‘example’ to their large followings who have taken it upon themselves to form vigilante groups that, in some instances, have hacked, beaten and stoned people to death,” said the coalition, adding that the SAPS must be held accountable wherever they have failed to arrest the ringleaders of vigilante groups.
During a press briefing held in Midrand, March and March Movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma rejected the calls for her arrest, stating that if anyone must shoulder blame, it is the South African government for failing to manage the illegal immigration crisis.
An international relations expert Professor Theo Neethling said this issue is largely the result of a long-standing governance challenge in South Africa, particularly the country's inability to effectively manage and secure its borders.
“For many years, South Africa's borders have remained highly porous, enabling hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the country, both legally and illegally, since 1994. As a consequence, South Africa has increasingly found itself under scrutiny, especially because many undocumented migrants originate from African states that provided political support to the anti-apartheid struggle before the democratic transition,” he said.
Neethling added that the situation has been further compounded by adverse economic conditions across several SADC member states, as well as conflict and instability in some countries on the continent. He said these push factors have encouraged migration to South Africa, which continues to be perceived as offering comparatively better economic opportunities.
“At the same time, a growing perception has emerged among many Africans across the continent that migrants in South Africa are increasingly viewed with suspicion or hostility. This perception has been reinforced by periodic outbreaks of anti-immigrant violence and heated public debates over immigration policy. Consequently, migration has evolved into both a domestic and foreign policy dilemma for South Africa, creating tensions between the government's internal political imperatives and its broader diplomatic relations with fellow African states,” he said.
Meanwhile, acting police commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane has outlined a comprehensive security plan for the planned demonstrations, which is backed by a R600-million budget, including the cancellation of all operational and support leave, strategic deployments to high-risk hotspots, and the deployment of drones and monitoring of social media to deter violence.