South Africa’s government has warned that illegal “vigilantism” in immigration enforcement will not be tolerated amid reports that some groups are conducting identity checks and searching homes and businesses for suspected undocumented migrants.
Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who chairs the Inter‑Ministerial Committee on Migration, said on Sunday that while citizens are entitled to protest against irregular migration, no individual or community group has the authority to take the law into their own hands. Kubayi said the government was alarmed by incidents in which groups had allegedly entered private properties to demand documentation from foreign nationals, describing the actions as criminal and urging those involved to stop immediately.
“This is illegal, and members of the community who are part of these activities are warned to refrain from such conduct,” the minister said. She stressed that immigration control, deportation and repatriation remain the exclusive responsibility of the state and warned that law enforcement would act decisively against anyone conducting unlawful searches or intimidation. Authorities have already opened 205 cases linked to such incidents, with 350 suspects arrested as of 8 July.
Kubayi said 69 cases were still under investigation and 112 were before the courts, involving offences ranging from intimidation and incitement to other unlawful conduct. Her remarks come amid heightened anti‑migrant sentiment in South Africa where periodic flare‑ups of xenophobic violence and community‑led “operations” targeting foreign nationals have been reported over the past decade.
These tensions have intensified in recent years as economic pressures, unemployment and political rhetoric have fuelled public frustration over irregular migration. Kubayi reported a significant rise in deportations and repatriations, with 53,449 foreign nationals processed by 11 July, mostly Malawians, Zimbabweans and Mozambicans.
JN/abj/APA