South African anti-immigration group sets new September 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners

The group announced this during a protest outside the Southern African Development Community SADC summit in Durban. March and March marched through central Durban with the theme “It’s time to fetch your people,” urging African leaders at the 46th SADC Summit to address their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation. The group had previously organized nationwide protests on June 30, demanding stricter measures against undocumented foreigners.

They stated that September 30 would mark "the mother of all protests" and called on South Africans to report illegal foreigners to the police. The protest occurred amidst ongoing discussions about South Africa's treatment of foreign nationals, with President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemning discrimination and violence against people from other African countries. Ramaphosa expressed shame over the ill-treatment of foreign nationals and emphasized the contradiction of advocating integration at a summit while practicing exclusion domestically.

The June 30 protests reportedly involved security operations, attacks, and looting in some areas. March and March continues to pressure the South African government for tougher action on undocumented immigration, while several African countries have evacuated their citizens due to tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals.