Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has raised alarm over vigilante groups unlawfully targeting migrants, business owners and communities.
The South African branch of the international human rights organisation published a statement on Tuesday concerned by ongoing reports of people being harassed on because of their perceived immigration status, “often taking the form of illegal requests for identification documents, intimidation, forced eviction from businesses and homes.”
The organisation says that this form of intimidation constitutes a violation of human rights and the rule of law.
Amnesty International says that vigilantism is being normalised in the country, saying that acts of vigilantism occur in the presence of police officers “while suspected undocumented migrants are pulled from their homes.”
“The failure of the state to act decisively against these groups has created a dangerous impression that people have the right to violate the rights of others simply because of their nationality or perceived immigration status,” said Amnesty International South Africa’s Executive Director Shenilla Mohamed.
The organisation says that the Immigration Act does not give a private individual or group the legal authority to conduct immigration enforcement.
“Only immigration officers and members of the South African Police Service are legally authorised to do this. Such conduct undermines the rule of law and threatens the constitutional rights of everyone living in South Africa,” Amnesty International said.
Amnesty International says that there is a wave of anti-migrant protests and intimidation that escalated in the lead up to the unlawful 30 June deadline set by March and March for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.
“The ultimatum was reinforced through threats and acts of violence,” said Dr Jean Pierre Misago, senior researcher at the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), at the University of the Witwatersrand last month. “While it had no legal basis […] it nevertheless functioned as a credible threat that many migrants could not safely ignore.”
Meanwhile, March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma on Monday claimed that the mass protests have led to positive improvements in several government departments. Ngobese-Zuma also declared the June 30 protests free of violence and intimidation despite reports of several arrests for looting during the protests.
According to the ACMS Xenowatch dashboard, xenophobic violence in South Africa has resulted in at least 75 deaths from 406 verified incidents of xenophobic discrimination in the period between 2022 and 2025. So far in 2026, Xenowatch has recorded 9 deaths, over 4000 displacements and close to 60 shops looted due to xenophobic incidents.
TIMELINE
The interactive timeline graphic below shows some of the events that trace the history of South Africa’s response to immigration tensions through constitutionally-protected protest and gut-wrenching violence that has tarnished the country’s reputation around the world.
