Tuesday saw thousands of anti-immigration demonstrators take to the streets throughout South Africa as protests calling for the expulsion of undocumented foreigners got underway under strict police supervision, sparking new worries among foreign nationals, including Nigerians.
Videos shared online showed large crowds marching through Johannesburg, where protesters demanded that undocumented immigrants leave the country.
The protest followed an unofficial June 30 deadline earlier issued by anti-migration campaigners for undocumented foreigners to leave South Africa.
According to the BBC, police officers were deployed across the country over fears that the demonstrations could turn violent.
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Ahead of the protests, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged demonstrators to refrain from “intimidation, threats or ultimatums,” saying the marches should remain peaceful even as his government acknowledged the need for immigration reforms.
The BBC reported that the demonstrations were “largely peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting.”
In Johannesburg, it was said the city centre was unusually quiet, with many businesses shut and police maintaining a strong presence on major roads. It added that some protesters threw bricks, smashing the windows of flats in Yeoville, a suburb with a large African migrant population.
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