Families shelter in community centres as attacks spread in Western Cape, with few prosecutions for anti-foreigner witch-hunts nationwide.
People protest against illegal immigration on May 20, 2026 in Durban, South Africa. The group is advocating for stronger immigration enforcement, strict border control, and the strict enforcement of municipal bylaws and local labor laws. Picture: Gallo Images/Darren Stewart
No matter where you stand on the question of illegal immigrants, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the plight of scores of poor Malawians and Mozambicans – some with families – seeking refuge around the country as the anti-foreigner violence spreads.
As the first tentacles of winter start to sting, these people have had to flee their already precarious existence in townships and look for shelter and food at various community-run centres.
It’s especially bad in the Western Cape at the moment, but many other areas are affected.
The Malawi government has just announced plans to repatriate – or, more correctly, rescue – its citizens who are under threat in South Africa.
They follow the government in Ghana, which did a similar thing last week.
None of that is good for the image of South Africa, which comes across as a violent, xenophobic country where law and order is breaking down… the latter because the perpetrators of anti-foreigner witch-hunts seldom get prosecuted.
This is a situation entirely brought to you by the ANC which, for decades, allowed porous borders and almost non-existent law enforcement to send the message that SA was the promised land for those seeking a better life.
