South African police arrest 69 at violent anti-immigrant protest

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A protester is detained after being accused of stealing from a fellow protester during an anti-migrant protest in Alexandra near Johannesburg on July 16, 2026. Protest organisers and participants have vowed to continue holding demonstrations every Thursday as part of an ongoing anti-migrant campaign. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)

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South African police said on Friday they had arrested 69 people after an anti-immigrant protest on the country’s southeast coast descended into looting and left at least one person hospitalised.

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South Africa has been swept by weeks of protests and unrest targeting undocumented immigrants, causing tens of thousands to flee the country.

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Nearly 150,000 people have left the country in recent weeks, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by African countries that have repatriated their nationals.

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Police said the protest in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape province was organised by anti-migrant group March and March.

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At least 23 tuck shops were looted, they said in a statement.

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“Several foreign nationals (were) placed in a temporary shelter for their safety,” a police spokesperson said, adding that one person had been hospitalised due to the violence.

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“The situation at this stage is still unstable however police visibility is intensified,” police said.

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Weeks of protests to demand that undocumented foreign nationals leave South Africa have already claimed the lives of at least four foreigners, according to police, although some African governments repatriating their citizens have put the death toll higher.

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Mobs armed with sticks have gone door-to-door in some areas in Gauteng province — home to the capital Pretoria and economic hub Johannesburg — to demand that foreign nationals leave the country, accusing them of taking jobs from locals.

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Some 350 people have been arrested for “unlawful conduct, intimidation, incitement and related offences,” as of July 8, the government said.

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AFP

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