William Shoki in The Ideas Letter:
On June 30, 2026, an arbitrary deadline expired in South Africa that no law had set and no court would have enforced. A loose constellation of anti-migrant organizations had announced it: March and March, led by the Durban activist and former radio host Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma (no relation to the former president Jacob Zuma); Operation Dudula, a vigilante anti-migrant movement founded in 2021; and a scatter of local groups. Months prior they had circulated an ultimatum summoning undocumented foreigners to leave South Africa by the end of June. The declaration had no legal standing, but that didn’t stop it from sparking fear and inducing displacement.
As the clock ticked, thousands of migrants from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Ghana began leaving South Africa; more than 25,000 had done so by late June. With the deadline drawing nearer, foreign workers stayed in their homes or shuttered their shops. On the day itself, anti-migrant marchers moved through most of the country’s urban centers. In one haunting scene from Johannesburg, a breakaway group wound through Hillbrow, the high-rise inner-city district where many from around the continent have made a home, stoning the residential towers. By the end of the day, at least four people had been killed and thousands had been displaced.
More here. (See responses by Panashe Chigumadzi, Nic Dawes and Brian Kagoro.)
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