Gambiaj.com – (JOHANNESBURG, South Africa) – The new wave of anti-migrant violence sweeping across South Africa since late March is not relenting and has left at least seven people dead, with rights groups warning that organized vigilante movements are fueling xenophobic attacks amid worsening unemployment and inequality.
Disturbing videos circulating online show migrants being assaulted, threatened, and subjected to illegal document checks by civilian groups in townships and urban centers across the country. In one widely shared video, vigilantes are seen beating a man accused of being undocumented with sticks outside what appears to be a closed shop.
The violence has coincided with a rise in anti-migrant protests in several South African cities ahead of the country’s 2026 local elections.
Vigilante Groups Accused of Targeting African Migrants Ahead of Local Elections
Two organisations, Operation Dudula and March and March, have emerged at the forefront of the protests and anti-immigrant mobilisation.
Operation Dudula was founded in Soweto by anti-migrant activist Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini before becoming a political party in 2023 under the leadership of Zandile Dabula.
March and March, founded in 2025 by former radio presenter Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, describes itself as a popular movement rather than a political party.
Both groups argue that undocumented migration is driving unemployment and insecurity in South Africa, a message that has reportedly gained traction among some conservative political parties ahead of the elections.
Rights activists, however, say the violence goes far beyond protests.
“There wasn’t just one trigger,” said Mpho Makhubela of Lawyers for Human Rights and the association Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia.
“The tensions we are seeing now have been growing for years but become more visible and intense at certain moments, like ahead of the elections when anti-migrant rhetoric tends to intensify,” Makhubela said.
According to Makhubela, migrants are facing organized intimidation, including threats, forced displacement, and looting of businesses.
“South African courts use the term ‘xeno-racism,’ a hostility based on both nationality and race,” Makhubela explained, noting that Black African migrants are overwhelmingly the targets of the attacks.
Rights groups say vigilante groups have increasingly taken on quasi-law enforcement roles in some communities, carrying out illegal stop-and-search operations and demanding immigration papers from migrants in the streets.
“If the people aren’t able to provide the documents, then they will be threatened, assaulted, or forced to leave the community,” Makhubela said.
Videos of such confrontations have spread widely on social media. One clip shows anti-immigrant activist Victoria Africa, also known as “Queen Vee,” confronting a Ghanaian man while demanding to see his documents.
International news agencies Reuters and African Press Agency reported that at least seven people, five Ethiopians and two Nigerians, have been killed since the violence erupted in late March.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said members of Operation Dudula and March have physically blocked migrants from accessing public health facilities and schools.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has condemned the actions and called on the South African government to dismantle vigilante groups and halt their illegal activities.
Makhubela said many migrants, including pregnant women and mothers, continue to face difficulties accessing healthcare despite holding valid immigration or asylum documents.
“Children also face obstacles when it comes to access to education,” Makhubela added, criticizing what he described as delayed or inadequate police responses in many incidents.
Rights Activists Warn Rising Unemployment and Inequality Are Fueling Xenophobic Attacks
Analysts say the violence is unfolding against the backdrop of deep economic hardship in South Africa, where unemployment remains above 30 percent and inequality is among the highest in the world.
“Many people are struggling. Businesses are closing, and people feel like there aren’t any real opportunities,” Makhubela said.
He argued that migrants have become easy scapegoats in communities facing poverty and poor access to services, despite what he described as false narratives blaming foreigners for crime, unemployment, and economic decline.
The legacy of apartheid and long-standing social divisions also continue to shape tensions within poor Black communities, he said.
Data compiled by Xenowatch, a database based at the University of the Witwatersrand, shows that nearly 700 people have died in xenophobic incidents in South Africa since 1994. The database has also documented more than 128,000 displaced people and over 5,600 businesses looted in attacks linked to xenophobic violence.
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