Human Rights Watch Condemns SA Police For Failing To Stop Xenophobic Violence

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says vigilante groups in South Africa have carried out violent, xenophobic attacks against African and Asian foreign nationals in recent weeks, with little to no effective response from the police and local authorities.

Throughout April and May 2026, a citizen-led movement called “March and March”, which campaigns for stricter immigration laws in South Africa, organised demonstrations against undocumented migrants in major cities, including Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban. These protests have turned violent, with some leading to fatalities.

“South Africa’s constitution and international human rights law protect the right to protest, but that does not include permission to commit violence,” said Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, South Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The authorities should not allow vigilante groups to violently target foreign nationals and instead need to protect them and bring those who harm them to justice.”

According to HRW, vigilante groups such as March and March and Operation Dudula routinely scapegoat foreign nationals, blaming them for South Africa’s economic struggles, poor public services, and high crime rates—despite numerous studies disproving these claims.

The groups have also prevented foreign nationals from accessing healthcare and education at public facilities.

In one recent incident, a 43-year-old Cameroonian shop owner in Durban, who has lived in South Africa for nearly 20 years, described being targeted by attackers he believed were affiliated with March and March. The assault occurred on 17 April 2026, during widespread protests aimed at foreign-owned businesses.

He said that although he had closed his shop, locked the doors, and turned off the lights, a gang of about ten men broke into the premises.

Using a derogatory term, they aggressively questioned two South African women who run a hair salon inside the shop about his whereabouts.

“They whipped me and my three colleagues who are not South African with golf sticks and sjamboks [heavy whips], and sprayed pepper spray on us,” he said.

“They also used stun guns on us. We ran outside the shop, unable to see clearly. They followed us outside and whipped us … no one came to assist us.”

The shop owner is married to a South African woman and lawfully living in South Africa, but he said his attackers did not seek to clarify his migration status.

No law enforcement officers came to protect him, he said, similar to reports in previous years that South African police officers failed to protect foreign nationals, or worse, aided the attackers.

The shop owner added that he has not opened an assault case, as he does not have faith in the country’s criminal justice system.

Masiko-Mpaka has challenged South African authorities to intensify efforts to address anti-immigrant sentiments and violence to ensure the safety and protection of at-risk foreign nationals in the country.

“Vigilante groups need to be held fully accountable, including through effective criminal prosecutions,” said Masiko-Mpaka.