By Brian Kiprono and Agencies - Reporter
South Africa, June 30 2026 - Thousands of migrants across South Africa have stayed off the streets, abandoned their homes and workplaces, and sought safety as anti-immigrant protests swept across major cities on Tuesday, raising fears of renewed xenophobic violence.
Businesses remained closed, buses were largely off the roads and many neighbourhoods in Johannesburg and Durban appeared unusually quiet as demonstrators gathered to demand the removal of undocumented migrants.
The protests coincided with a self-imposed deadline issued by campaigners calling on undocumented foreigners to leave South Africa, prompting many migrants to flee before the marches began.
Authorities deployed thousands of police officers while the military remained on standby to prevent the demonstrations from turning violent.
Among those affected are migrants who say they have been forced from their homes despite holding legal documents.
"All these people were chased out by their landlords," Congolese community leader Mabako Majole told Reuters while standing beside about 100 displaced people sleeping outside a government office in Durban.
"All these people are legal. They have documents."
Many landlords in Durban and Johannesburg reportedly evicted foreign tenants over fears that their properties could be attacked by protesters.
The demonstrations have exposed growing tensions over immigration in South Africa, where many unemployed citizens accuse foreign nationals of taking jobs, increasing crime and placing pressure on public services. However, researchers say there is little evidence to support those claims.
Among the protesters in Durban was 31-year-old Silindile Xaba, who said economic hardship had fuelled public anger.
"People are not working, the jobs are being taken by illegal foreigners. It's not fair," she told Reuters.
The campaign behind the protests, March and March, insists it does not support violence, saying its focus is on pressuring the government to address illegal immigration.
"We are trying to channel that anger towards the government," organiser Jacinta Ngobese told Reuters in an earlier interview.
"Unfortunately, we can't be in every single community telling them how to behave."
President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed for calm, acknowledging public concerns over illegal immigration while warning against intimidation and violence.
"Some foreign nationals who live in South Africa are here lawfully," Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter.
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"They work, study, raise families, invest in our economy and contribute positively to our society. They too are entitled to the protection of our laws and our Constitution."
He added: "The right to protest and freedom of expression does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence."
The protests have already taken a human toll.
According to police, thousands of migrants have left the country since demonstrations began earlier this year, with Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ghana and Nigeria organising voluntary repatriation flights and buses.
One undocumented Malawian preparing to return home told the BBC he was "happy to be going back" but "heartbroken" to leave behind his four young children.
Another migrant, Nelson Mbewe, said he travelled to South Africa hoping to support his family but now feels he has no choice but to leave.
"But we've faced challenges - they're saying we should go back home because we do not have the right documents," he told the BBC.
"They say we are Makwerekwere," he added, referring to a derogatory term used against African migrants.
"It's their country, so what can we do? That's why we have accepted that we just have to go back home."
Despite the growing hostility, some migrants appealed for unity.
"All I want to say to South Africans is that we are all one," Malawian national Hassan Phiri told the BBC.
"No matter what is happening, no matter what will happen, Africa must remain Africa. Africa can't be Africa without South Africa... without Malawi, without anywhere."
South African police said more than 100 criminal cases have been opened against anti-foreigner vigilantes since March.
The latest unrest has renewed concerns about xenophobic violence in South Africa, where deadly attacks against foreign nationals have erupted periodically since 2008, damaging the country's image as a champion of human rights on the African continent.