Migrants express fear as deadline dey near for dem to comot for South Africa

South Africa don bicom hostile place for undocumented migrants, as deadline wey protesters set for dem to comot for di kontri dey near.

"Fear dey catch me well-well and I dey traumatised," Esnat Joseph, one 36-year-old Malawian woman tell BBC as she dey try comfort her crying one-year-old triplets.

She run comot her house for one informal settlement for di port city of Durban, for KwaZulu-Natal province, to seek refuge for one open field wia up to 7,000 foreigners - mainly Malawians – don begin gada wit dia belongings two weeks ago.

"Di pipo come my house and dem tell me say: 'You gatz leave. We no want make una stay hia again, so pack your load go back your kontri.' Dem be 10 and dem carry weapons," she tok, as she describe how di group of South African men hold machetes and whips.

"Dem cut my husband on im head and for im neck. Dem hold im neck like say dem wan kill am. Becos of God e survive, but e still dey hospital."

Many odas for di field, wia aid groups dey give out blankets and food, report same door-to-door intimidation.

Dis dey happun afta plenti mainly peaceful protests dis year wey anti-migrant group March and March, opposition party ActionSA plus odas lead and dem don set 30 June as di deadline for undocumented migrants to leave.

Wit sticks for dia hand, di marchers dey shout "Mabahambe" - one Zulu phrase wey mean "dem must go".

As di countdown continue, President Cyril Ramaphosa don warn South Africans on Tuesday say "using vulnerable pipo as scapegoat" no be di solution to di kontri complex economic challenges.

Joseph bin come South Africa three years ago and bin dey work as domestic servant bifor she born her children.

Her legal status no dey clear - she say she lost her passport and oda paperwork for one robbery. She dey hope to go back Malawi on one of di buses di Malawian consulate don arrange wit di help of donations for dia desperate citizens to leave Durban.

Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zimbabwe don also begin repatriate dia citizens by air or bus ova last few weeks - as about 3,500 foreigners so far don volunteer to leave.

Di South African authorities tok say di more dan 500 Nigerians wey dia govment recently repatriate bin dey dia kontri illegally.

Benjamin, one returnee wey land for Lagos last week afta nearly nine years for South Africa tell BBC say: "South Africans no like foreigners, especially Nigerians. South Africa no be place to stay - na place wey you fit lose your life at any time."

Protest organisers don deny say dia actions dey xenophobic. Dem say dem dey sick of how oda Africans dey abuse di system and, as March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma put am, "dey play di victim card".

"If you come South Africa wit passport wey allow you stay for 30 days. If you stay for 50 days, two years, five years, you know say you don break di law," she tell BBC for one protest for Durban.

"We no fit allow make dem turn South Africa into refugee site for all failed African states… evri kontri dey put dia citizens first and we want make di South African govment do di same."

Latest figures show say South Africa na home to more dan three million foreigners, about 5% of di population - most from neighbouring kontris for southern Africa.

But di statistics no get record of di many more migrants wey belief dey say dem dey di kontri witout papers – wey be bone of contention for di protesters.

Di growing hardship for di kontri as e dey face growing youth unemployment and economic inequality na di cause of dia anger.

South Africa get one of di highest rates of unemployment for di world at 32.7%, according to Statistics South Africa, wey record 350,000 job losses for di first quarter of 2026 - majority na young pipo.

However, di continent most-developed economy still na magnet for citizens of poorer kontris wey dey risk dia lives to go dia to find work like security guards and domestic servants.

Protesters like Mecha Ramorola also point to di kontri strained public services as South African "pipo dey fight for scarce resources".

"We dey struggle to get our children into schools. We dey struggle to get our old pipo into hospitals," Ramorola tell BBC during one march for di capital, Pretoria.

But fears dey say dis protests fit lead to a repeat of di violence wey happun for 2008, wen 62 pipo, wey include 21 South Africans, die for riots wey force thousands of pipo to leave dia houses.

Outbreaks of xenophobic violence bin also happun for 2015, 2016 and 2019.

Last month, di Mozambique govment tok say five of dia citizens die for xenophobic attacks for Western Cape province.

South Africa foreign minister disagree, as e say na two Mozambicans die and dem dey investigate di circumstances wey surround dia deaths.

Videos on social media dey ginger di hostility towards foreigners.

For inside one of di videos, protesters bin dey harass one Ghanaian man, dem tell am to go home, wey make Ghana to summon South Africa ambassador to demand beta protection for foreign nationals.

Anoda wey bin go viral show as one popular protester Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, wey pipo sabi well-well as Phakel'umthakathi and wey get 1.4 million followers on Facebook, bin approach one man wey stand by di roadside and dey ask am of im nationality.

Wen e reply say im be Congolese, Ndabandaba - wey wear im trademark Zulu headdress - tell am for polite tone witout asking about im legal status: "30 June na di deadline, but e no mean say you gatz leave on 30 June. Leave now."

But foreigners wey dey live for di kontri legally tok say dem also dey targeted - some dey camp outside Durban Home Affairs office for protection.

"I get my own document wey recognise my refugee status for South Africa, but dem dey drive all of us away," one Burundian woman, wey dey dia wit her four children, tell BBC.

"I dey veri afraid for my life. Di children dey afraid. Respect no dey. Wen you pass, dem go insult you. Dem dey insult children even for school," she tok as she wrap hersef for blanket to get shelter from di cold of di southern hemisphere winter.

To just go shops fit dey intimidating dis days, one Malawian beauty therapist for Cape Town, wey don leave for South Africa for 16 years witout legal status, tell BBC.

She, her husband and dia nine-year-old daughter bin get scary incident for one taxi on di way to one shopping centre: "We bin dey inside Uber, just di three of us, and di Uber driver ask us wia your papers dey? Wia you come from? You sound different."

Di beauty therapist tok say she understand why Ramphosa recently set out action plan to deal wit illegal migration - but stress say human beings, legal or not, get right to safety.

"My pikin no even dey go school becos we dey fear. Fear dey catch us on wetin go happun now."

For one special national address earlier dis month, di president warn say no individual or group get di right to demand proof of nationality from pipo for public spaces and add say govment go act against dem.

"No space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any oda forms of intolerance for South Africa," e tok as e explain im coalition govment five-point strategy to deal wit di crisis.

Dis include refusing asylum claims from pipo wey bin travel through oda "safe" kontris, di introduction of quota for di naturalisation of citizens and extend di reach of digital IDs to non-citizens.

Jail terms also dey for employers wey dey give low-paying jobs to undocumented migrants.

"You find immigrant for jobs wey South African no go ordinarily accept, or jobs wey dey pay less dan wetin govment demand, becos one, dem dey desperate, two, dem dey open to abuse as dem short-change dem," analyst Prof Shepherd Mpofu tell BBC.

Ramaphosa say dem go also make efforts to clamp down on corruption within di system.

One 36-year-old Malawian woman for Johannesburg, wey no want make her name dey mentioned sake of fear of attack, tell BBC say she enta South Africa wit visitor visa and bin dey bribe border officials to stamp her passport for money evri couple of months witout crossing di border.

"I don decide to go back home for a while and close down my hair salon becos of threats," she tok, as she explain say she fear for di safety of her young children.

Di latest spike in protests dey come as political parties dey seek support ahead of local govment elections for November.

Some corrupt politicians dey use misinformation to fuel fear and anger ova illegal migration – as dem dey share old videos and dey confuse di narrative.

One claim wey dem don debunk na say South Africa get 15 million undocumented migrants. Na ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba bin first spread am five years ago as e dey campaign to bicom mayor of Johannesburg, and e dey continue to come up.

"Political parties dey scrape di bottom of di barrel to lie to pipo say all our problems na di migrants, and if we get rid of di migrants, den we no go get problems for South Africa," Sharon Ekambaram, one human rights lawyer and member of di Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia movement tok.

"Dis na ongoing phenomenon for South Africa and more recently, dem don connect am to elections."

Di govment continue to dey push back - di ministerial task team on migration tok say dis week dem don arrest 40,000 illegal immigrants so far dis year for breaking di Immigration Act.

Such measures plus di protests dey leave many migrants to feel like say dia time dey up.

uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), di kontri third largest party wey former President Jacob Zuma dey lead and wey get lots of support for KwaZulu-Natal, no support di deadline for migrants to leave - but endorse di protesters sentiments.

"We all agree say undocumented migrants dey break di law… Dem must leave our kontri peacefully witout any violence or intimidation," MK member Bonginkosi Khanyile tell BBC.

Nonetheless, tangible fear dey nationwide becos of di warning from Ndabandaba, one of di main protesters.

"On 30 June, I no go fit control di pipo of South Africa," e tok.

Tori say plenti vehicles park for Mozambique border post wit foreigners anxious to leave.

For di field of Durban, terrified Malawians - most, according to officials, witout papers - no fit wait to get out.

Wen di first bus bin land to evacuate some of dem on Sunday, di crowds bin chant for Zulu "Siyahamba", wey mean say "We dey leave".

Additional reporting by Thuthuka Zondi