Acting national commissioner will brief the media on the situation in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng amid violent protests.
Cars are set alight after clashes erupt between protesters and foreign nationals in Durban on October 8, 2026. Several vehicles were set alight during the confrontation amid tensions over undocumented immigration and foreign nationals. South African protesters and foreign nationals clashed Thursday, police and an AFP reporter said, as tensions over migration were reignited by a court order that government must restart processing asylum applications. Violence erupted in Soweto, in Johannesburg, and the east coast port city of Durban, with several cars torched and foreign-run businesses forced to close. It followed protests called by anti-illegal migration movements that were behind waves of demonstrations earlier this year that led tens of thousands of nationals of other African countries to flee the country. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP)
The acting national commissioner of the South African Police Service (Saps) will brief the media on the situation in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng amid violent protests over a Home Affairs directive concerning asylum seekers.
Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane will be in Soweto on Thursday evening to assess the current situation and provide an update on police deployments in the two provinces and other identified hotspots.
Dimpane briefs the media in Soweto amid protests
Earlier, several cars reportedly belonging to immigrants were set alight in Orlando West in a stand-off between residents and foreign shop owners.
Violence also erupted in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
In Durban, several cars were also set on fire, while police in Gqeberha used stun grenades to disperse locals, allegedly disrupting the queuing of foreign nationals.
The acting National Commissioner will also outline the operational measures being implemented to maintain law and order, protect communities and respond to emerging security threats.
WATCH: Acting national police commissioner briefs the media:
Police monitoring situation in Durban
The Durban police said it was monitoring the protest in the Durban CBD.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said, according to reports, there was a gender-based violence march in the CBD, and after it ended, the protesters allegedly walked down Dr Pixley KaSeme Street to join the March and March group, which was marching at the Home Affairs offices.
“Information at this stage suggests that as they were walking, one of them was allegedly assaulted by a foreign national, and his leg was broken,” Netshiunda said.
“It is not yet clear what sparked the alleged assault. The group became angry, and violence erupted, resulting in the burning of at least 14 vehicles.”
Saps responded to the escalating violence and arrested three foreign nationals for the assault.
A lodge building and a warehouse were partially burnt; however, the fire was immediately put out.
