Anti-Migrant Protests Turn Violent in Durban and Soweto: Cars Torched, Shops Looted, Government Blames Disinformation
On Thursday, October 8, 2026, anti-migrant protests in Durban and in Johannesburg's Soweto township turned violent. Reuters reported that the Durban unrest followed a protest demanding a refugee centre stop processing asylum applications; News24 said about 10 vehicles were overturned and set alight and foreign-owned shops looted, while in Soweto residents clashed with foreign shop owners and gunshots were heard, according to Newzroom Afrika. Police later put the toll at 14 vehicles torched in Durban and 10 in Soweto.
The government said the violence was triggered by disinformation about the Constitutional Court's July 7 ruling, which struck down procedural barriers in the Refugees Act that had allowed officials to turn asylum seekers away before their claims were heard. The ruling did not automatically grant citizenship, refugee status, permanent residence or other legal rights, Home Affairs said, calling claims of blanket legalisation categorically false and pointing to a coordinated disinformation campaign. Police said more officers were mobilised and that those responsible would be identified, investigated and arrested.
The deeper context is South Africa's entrenched unemployment and inequality: three decades after apartheid, about a third of people are out of work, and migrants are often blamed for taking jobs, fuelling crime and straining public services, claims social scientists say are unsupported by evidence. Africa's largest economy continues to draw migrants, and months of anti-migrant marches this year have drawn international criticism, with thousands of African foreign nationals fleeing the country.
The unrest disrupted commercial districts in both Durban and Johannesburg, where Chinese traders also operate; although African migrant businesses were the main target, indiscriminate destruction in city centres and townships endangered neighbouring traders as well. Police said calm returned to both areas.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：德班市政厅与弗朗西斯·法韦尔花园实景。摄影：Mariannebritsstrodl，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
