Members of civil society groups and human rights organisations hold placards as they take part in a march calling for stronger government action against illegal immigration in Pretoria, South Africa, April 28, 2026. Image @ REUTERS/Ihsaan Haffejee/File Photo
Around 800 Mozambican nationals were swept up in anti-immigrant violence in the South African coastal town of Mossel Bay last weekend, with Maputo confirming that five of its citizens were killed in what it described as xenophobic attacks — the first officially confirmed fatalities linked to a widening wave of anti-migrant unrest across the country.
The violence broke out on Friday in Mossel Bay, a port town in the Western Cape province, and quickly engulfed hundreds of foreign nationals living in the area. About 55 shacks were torched in an informal settlement as the unrest spread, forcing residents to flee for their lives. “We were still inside when people started burning down our house,” Mozambican national Dolinda Mabunda was quoted as saying by the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
South African police confirmed that two Mozambican men, aged 27 and 43, were found dead with multiple assault injuries at an informal settlement in Mossel Bay — about 380 kilometres east of Cape Town. In the early hours of Sunday, officers in the same area recovered the body of an 18-year-old South African who had been stabbed to death under unclear circumstances. Maputo’s toll, however, was higher. “Regrettably, seven Mozambican citizens have died, five of them as a direct consequence of the xenophobic attacks and the other two as a result of a road accident, when they were travelling in a private vehicle on their way back to Mozambique,” the Mozambican government said.
Mossel Bay Mayor Dirk Kotze voiced “deep concern and dismay at the current xenophobic attacks where people have been murdered, houses burned and families displaced.” “I will go back home because we are not safe,” said a migrant named Silvino Chauque, speaking to national broadcaster SABC, adding that he had lost all his possessions in the violence.
The unrest in Mossel Bay is part of a broader wave of anti-migrant protests that has swept South Africa in recent weeks, hitting major cities including Johannesburg and Durban. A citizen-led organisation has set a June 30 deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, triggering reports of vigilante groups checking the documentation of foreigners and forcing small businesses to close. Earlier this month, a march against immigration in the Eastern Cape ended in attacks on businesses owned by foreign nationals.
The exodus of Mozambican nationals began almost immediately. The violence prompted 300 Mozambicans to return to their country by their own means on Saturday. The remaining 500-plus were sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province, with their repatriation to Mozambique already underway as of June 1. Ghana also repatriated hundreds of its citizens from South Africa last week. Mozambique’s government warned that “a worsening of the current situation is expected” given the prevailing volatility.
The killings are particularly striking given that Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, during a visit to South Africa on May 5, had stated that there were no recorded cases of Mozambican citizens being killed or injured in xenophobia-related incidents in the country.
South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, has long drawn migrants from neighbouring states seeking work, as well as refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflict in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Immigrants are routinely blamed for the country’s persistently high unemployment, a grievance that has repeatedly fuelled violent outbursts against foreign communities. Addressing parliament on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa struck a dual tone. “We must never give in to violence, xenophobia or vigilantism,” he said, while also stressing that his government was cracking down on illegal immigration. Police, meanwhile, said no arrests had yet been made over the murders, though deployments in Mossel Bay remained on high alert.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah