South African police will increase deployments across the country ahead of a June 30 deadline set by fringe anti-immigration groups demanding that undocumented foreigners leave, law enforcement officials said Monday.
The country, one of Africa’s largest and most industrialized economies, has been on edge after weeks of sporadic xenophobic violence that has left at least two people dead.
Small but organized groups have issued an ultimatum for undocumented migrants to depart or face unspecified consequences, a demand that carries no legal authority.
“The South African Police Service has elevated its operational readiness across all provinces, with comprehensive deployment plans in place to protect communities, critical infrastructure and key public spaces,” Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said.
He stressed the right to peaceful protest but warned: “Criminality, intimidation, violence, the destruction of property and any attempt to undermine public safety will not be tolerated.”
The military will secure strategic sites such as airports and stand ready to assist police if needed, Defence Minister Angie Motshekga said.
“If, and I hope it is not going to reach that point, we are called upon by the police to support, we will. Basically, ours is around the key points,” she said.
South Africa, a longstanding magnet for migrant labor, faces joblessness above 30% and a history of periodic anti-foreigner violence fueled by claims migrants drive crime and take jobs.
Past flare-ups have been deadly: 62 people were killed in 2008 riots, with further outbreaks in 2015 and 2016.
Violence in 2019 saw armed mobs descend on foreign-owned businesses around Johannesburg, leaving at least 12 people dead, 10 of them South African citizens.
The latest tensions come ahead of local government elections scheduled for Nov. 4.
During voter registration over the weekend, gunmen shot dead four people linked to political parties in separate incidents.
Two of those killed were affiliated with the opposition Umkhonto we Sizwe party, headed by former President Jacob Zuma, who led South Africa from 2009 to 2018. A Democratic Alliance ward candidate was shot in the Western Cape, while an African National Congress ward councillor was killed in the Eastern Cape.
