XENOPHOBIC UNREST: ‘Violence is not activism’: NatJoints talks tough on anti-foreigner mobs after xenophobic unrest

SA’s top law enforcement structure has issued the strongest rebuke yet by authorities to those inciting xenophobic violence across South Africa. Critics say that without arrests and a shift in the government’s narrative, little will change.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) has drawn a hard line against anti-foreigner mobs, warning that no individual or movement has the right to enforce immigration laws outside the framework of South Africa’s Constitution.

This comes after three people, including two Mozambicans and a South African, were killed in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, at the weekend, when xenophobic violence erupted against foreign nationals in the area. The violence led to the torching of dozens of homes and the displacement of hundreds of families.

The Mozambican government on Wednesday announced that it planned to repatriate 1,000 Mozambican citizens in response to the violence. Mozambique is the latest country to announce repatriations as anti-immigrant marches gather pace and politicians continue to utter xenophobic and Afrophobic rhetoric as a way to attract votes ahead of the 2026 polls.

The recurring reports of violence, racism and xenophobia against migrants in South Africa come on the back of a surge in anti-immigrant protests led or inspired by the anti-foreigner movement March and March, led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma.

On Saturday, GroundUp reported that hundreds of people staged a protest in Kleinmond, Western Cape, demanding that foreign nationals leave the area.

On Tuesday, News24 reported protesters in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, targeted foreign nationals’ homes in Cloverdene and Chief Albert Luthuli. Meanwhile, in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, hundreds of protesters marched through the streets and visited shops, calling on the government to act against illegal migration.

At a press conference in George, Western Cape, on Wednesday, 3 June, Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, and NatJoints chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, sought to reassure the public that the government remained “firmly in control” of South Africa’s security environment.

“Ladies and gentlemen, South Africa is governed by the Constitution and the rule of law, not by intimidation, violence, ultimatums or mob justice.

“Therefore, no individual, movement, organisation or grouping has the authority to take the law into its own hands, conduct unlawful operations, intimidate communities, target individuals based on their nationality, or seek to enforce imm