Across South Africa, tensions flared today (June 30) as nationwide March and March-led anti-illegal immigration demonstrations took place. While organisers called for peaceful marches to demand stricter laws against undocumented foreign nationals, several areas experienced disruptions, protests and looting.  

Caxton Media’s local news networks monitored the events to show how the day unfolded.  

KZN 

On the outskirts of Hammarsdale in Woody Glen, Highway Mail confirmed that five suspects, aged between 14 and 27, were arrested in the early hours of this morning. The group was allegedly caught breaking into container tuckshops along Embuthweni Main Road. Police cornered and arrested one suspect inside a shop, while the other four were caught trying to run away on foot.  

KZN Premier Thami Ntuli praised the police, stating that a rapid response nerve centre had been set up in Durban and across all districts to handle issues quickly. He warned that while civil society has a right to protest immigration, lawlessness would not be tolerated. 

In Durban, the eThekwini Municipality began closing down a migrant camp at the decommissioned Old Drive-In site at the weekend. Berea Mail reported that while more than 15 000 people had already been processed and moved to a temporary repatriation centre in Musina, Limpopo, about 500 foreign nationals sat out in the open under guard by law enforcement and municipal security. When asked about their future, one stranded resident told reporters that they hadn’t been told anything and feared they might not be leaving at all.  

Mpumalanga  

In Mpumalanga, a small group of residents gathered near the traffic circle at the intersection of De Jager and Naudé streets in Ermelo. This was the exact spot where a much larger March and March demonstration occurred on June 10. Highvelder reported that participants described the gathering as a peaceful community meeting rather than a march.

While the event, held under a heavy police and private security presence, was mostly orderly, one minor altercation resulted in community members escorting a man directly to a police van. Bystanders claimed the man was an undocumented foreign national, though authorities could not immediately verify his legal status. 

Further north, tensions linked to the anti-illegal immigration protests spilt into Limpopo. Lowvelder reported that the Limpopo SAPS arrested several community members in Ga-Mampuru for allegedly looting foreign-owned shops. The attacks took place between 00:00 and 02:00. In the wake of the destruction, some of the remaining spaza shop owners in the community emptied their shelves and temporarily withdrew from the area as a safety precaution.  

Despite the night-time violence, all roads in and around Burgersfort, Ohrigstad and Steelpoort remained fully open and accessible by early morning. The Limpopo SAPS, private security providers, and emergency services placed themselves on high alert, relying on visible patrols to keep the public safe and urging residents to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity. 

Gauteng  

Gauteng reportedly experienced the worst of the retail disruptions and looting. In Pretoria, anti-illegal immigration protesters marched from Church Square to the Sunnyside Police Station shortly after 13:00. Once there, they handed over a memorandum of demands to MMC for Community Safety Hannes Coetzee and the Tshwane district police commissioner, Major General Samuel Thine.  

Pretoria Rekord reported that while the inner city remained calm under a strong security cluster presence, several peripheral areas experienced early disruptions. In Hammanskraal, protesters burnt tyres and temporarily forced the closure of N1 offramps before police cleared the road.  

East of the city, ward councillor Malcolm de Klerk reported isolated transport issues in the N4 Gateway area near Bronkhorstspruit.  

Meanwhile, in Olievenhoutbosch, hundreds of protesters marched toward the R55, prompting authorities to monitor the area closely until earlier road closures were lifted. In Pretoria West, about 100 protesters from the Gomorrah informal settlement marched to the Hercules Police Station to speak with the station commander before voluntarily dispersing peacefully by 13:30.  

However, the situation turned criminal in Mamelodi, where authorities confirmed the looting of several foreign-owned shops in Stoffelpark and surrounding areas. 

In Soweto, a looting incident was narrowly avoided in Kliptown at the Boxer shopping complex. Denise Higgins, the co-ordinator for the Kliptown CPF, told Soweto Urban that a large crowd gathered outside the shops after an anonymous voice note went viral on social media, allegedly inciting people to loot the store.  

The JMPD Public Order Policing Unit and the CPF reacted quickly, locking the main security gates and standing guard until the crowd dispersed. 

Businesses in Protea South were successfully targeted. Soweto Urban reported that foreign-owned shops in the area were vandalised and looted at around 07:30.  

According to information received from community members, people believed to be between the ages of 14 and 20, wearing balaclavas, were allegedly behind the attacks. Residents claim they tried to intervene, but the looters told them their actions were aimed specifically at foreigners and not black South Africans. 

The owner of one of the affected shops, Kamil Nuriye Keder, said the looters took all his stock, leaving him with significant financial losses. Keder stated that he doubts he will resume trading in the area, adding that he fears for his life after the violence of the attack.  

Tensions also spiked in Germiston when a crowd gathered outside a residential building on President Street, claiming it housed undocumented immigrants and was used for illegal drug trafficking.  

Germiston City News reported that after police and march organisers searched the building, they discovered only South African families with valid paperwork inside.

This allegedly sparked anger among some protesters outside who had initially tried to block police entry, resulting in a brief fight. One person was assaulted before the crowd moved east along Rietfontein, Cactus, and Pretoria roads into Primrose under a heavy escort of SAPS and private security.

On the West Rand, residents of Zandspruit held a peaceful march along Beyers Naudé Drive. Randburg Sun confirmed that while the protest remained orderly, one side of the road heading toward the Honeydew Police Station had to be closed, forcing motorists to find alternative routes. 

North West  

In the North West, authorities focused on large-scale compliance operations ahead of the June 30 deadline for undocumented immigrants to leave South Africa, resulting in 125 arrests.  

According to the Parys Gazette, 52 people were arrested in Tlhabane, 49 in Rustenburg and 23 in the remote Vorstershoop area. Colonel Anne Magakoe confirmed that the Vorstershoop arrests were made on Saturday (June 27). She said that during a sting operation, police intercepted a white Isuzu truck and a white Toyota Land Cruiser single-cab on the R379 gravel road. While several occupants tried to flee into nearby farmlands, they later returned voluntarily for document checks. A joint investigation with the Department of Home Affairs in Ganyesa proved their paperwork was invalid or expired.  

Unrelated protest action  

In KZN, a protest unrelated to the anti-illegal immigrant demonstrations erupted in Pietermaritzburg on the R56 leading to Richmond and Ixopo. 

According to The Witness frustrated community members blocked the road with rocks, tree branches and glass bottles. While the unrest coincided with the national anti-illegal immigration marches, residents revealed they were protesting a severe service delivery failure, after allegedly having had no electricity for two weeks.  

When protesters gathered to demand an urgent meeting with their ward councillor and the mayor, Public Order Policing units allegedely fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd, causing residents to flee and later retaliate by throwing stones back at the police. 

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