Frustrated groups sponsored anti-foreigner protests in South Africa, report reveals

Anti-foreigner campaigns in South Africa, which have led to Nigerians and other Africans being forced to leave, were fueled by civil society organizations driven by activism and frustration, according to the Africa Reputation Intelligence Report by Alfa Destiny Communications and Novus Group. These protests, occurring in major cities like Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, and East London, have resulted in looting, assaults, and deaths, particularly affecting Nigerians. Opposition leader Julius Malema stated in May that the protests were politically motivated, describing them as actions by "charlatans, extortionists, disruptors and corrupt individuals." The report highlights a coalition of over 27 civil society and activist organizations, including the March and March movement and Operation Dudula, which organized a protest on June 30, setting an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country. The March and March movement, founded and led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, a South African radio personality and civic activist, emerged from online activism and community frustration. The Nigerian government has repatriated over 800 Nigerians in three batches due to these demonstrations. Returnees have reported brutalization and claims by South Africans that foreigners have taken their jobs. The report attributes the underlying reasons for these attacks to South Africa’s structural economic strain and political opportunism, emphasizing that the March an