South African protesters drag immigrants from homes, hand them to police

Groups of anti-immigration protesters seized foreigners from their homes in Johannesburg on Thursday and handed them over to police, in a hardening of demonstrations that have sown fear in communities and strained diplomatic ties with neighbouring countries.

In Alexandra township, a Reuters reporter witnessed protesters breaking down doors and entering houses where they believed undocumented immigrants were hiding, escorting people to waiting police vans, among them a woman and a young child from Malawi.

Not everyone caught up in the sweeps was undocumented — one Zimbabwean man apprehended by the marchers, Total Mhlanga, said he held a valid Zimbabwean Exemption Permit allowing him to legally live and work in the country.

The unrest follows an unofficial June 30 deadline set by anti-immigrant groups for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.

In Soweto, protesters marched through the streets carrying sticks and flags, with plans to conduct similar door-to-door searches, while another march took place in Durban.

The most prominent figure behind the movement, former radio presenter Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, has said her group, March and March, will continue protesting every Thursday until its demands are met, including tighter border controls, mass deportations, and policies prioritising South Africans in access to schools and health centres.

The protests come against a backdrop of soaring unemployment and rising anti-immigrant sentiment across South Africa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned against scapegoating foreigners for the country’s deep-rooted economic problems, and the government has repeatedly stressed that citizens have no legal authority to carry out immigration enforcement themselves.

Police have responded by stepping up arrests of undocumented migrants and deploying additional officers to recent marches to maintain order, even as the vigilante-style searches continue to spread fear among immigrant communities.