South Africa has withdrawn a directive requiring refugee reception offices to process asylum applications following violent anti-immigrant protests in Johannesburg and Durban that left vehicles burned and foreign-owned businesses looted.
Violence broke out on Thursday in Soweto, Johannesburg, and Durban, a coastal city in the east of the country, following demonstrations organised by groups opposing illegal immigration. Police reported widespread property damage in both locations.
The Home Affairs Department said Friday that the directive had been withdrawn after causing “serious consequences”. It said refugee reception offices had been “overwhelmed within a matter of days”, placing officials at risk and creating “serious threats to public safety and order”.
The directive was introduced following a Constitutional Court ruling that found certain procedural barriers preventing asylum seekers from accessing the application process to be unconstitutional. Its implementation prompted hundreds of people to visit refugee reception offices, intensifying tensions over immigration.
In Durban, at least 14 vehicles were set alight and a municipal building was torched, according to reports. Police said three foreign nationals had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a South African protester. In Soweto, at least 10 vehicles were burned and small convenience stores were looted.
The department said it would “embark on a fresh process” but did not provide further details about how asylum applications would be handled under the revised approach.
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, has long attracted migrants from across Africa. However, the country has experienced recurring outbreaks of xenophobic violence over nearly two decades, often amid allegations that foreign nationals compete with South Africans for jobs and limited public resources.
Anti-immigration sentiment has intensified ahead of local government elections scheduled for November 4, with unemployment exceeding 30% adding to economic pressures.
At least four foreign nationals were killed in violence earlier this year, according to South African police, although some African governments reported higher death tolls. Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals accounted for the largest groups leaving the country, while citizens of Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda also departed, some through government-organised repatriation efforts. The departures have contributed to diplomatic tensions with Pretoria.
