JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Businesses closed, buses remained off the roads and many workers stayed home across South Africa on Tuesday as the country prepared for nationwide anti-immigrant demonstrations that authorities feared could escalate into violence.
Many foreign nationals, particularly migrants from other African countries, avoided traveling to work, while thousands had already left their homes ahead of a deadline set by protest organizers demanding that undocumented migrants leave the country.
Although the deadline was directed at people living in South Africa illegally, many migrants interpreted it as a direct threat. Previous outbreaks of xenophobic unrest have often targeted foreign nationals regardless of their immigration status, leaving both documented and undocumented migrants vulnerable to attacks on their homes and businesses.
In Johannesburg and the port city of Durban, witnesses said some landlords had begun evicting foreign tenants out of concern that their buildings could become targets of vandalism during the protests.
Outside a building in central Durban, about 100 people spent the night sleeping on the street after being forced to leave their accommodation, according to Congolese community leader Mabako Majole.
“All these people were chased out by their landlords,” Majole said. “All these people are legal. They have documents.”
Authorities deployed police officers and military personnel in several cities expected to host large demonstrations, where thousands of mostly unemployed or low-income South Africans were anticipated to gather.
Deputy National Commissioner for Policing Tebello Mosikili said security forces had been instructed to ensure demonstrations remained peaceful while protecting residents from intimidation or violence.
“The state has the duty and obligation to ensure that those that are demonstrating do so peacefully,” Mosikili told reporters late Monday.
The renewed wave of anti-immigrant sentiment has revived concerns about xenophobic violence that has periodically erupted in South Africa since the end of apartheid. Previous attacks have damaged the country’s reputation as a defender of human rights and strained diplomatic relations with neighboring African nations.
The unrest has also exposed growing political pressure over immigration, with several public figures acknowledging widespread frustration over undocumented migration while condemning violence against foreigners.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said concerns about illegal immigration were legitimate and deserved public attention but stressed that protests must remain within the law.
“South Africans’ deep concerns about illegal immigration are real and they deserve to be heard,” Ramaphosa said in a statement Monday.
“But the right to protest does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence,” he added.
As demonstrations got underway, security officials remained on high alert, seeking to prevent a repeat of previous episodes of xenophobic unrest that left dozens dead, displaced thousands of migrants and caused widespread damage to businesses owned by foreign nationals.
