{"id":6049,"date":"2026-06-30T15:30:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/?p=6049"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:17:10","slug":"the-immigration-question-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consolataafrica.org\/en\/the-immigration-question-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The immigration question in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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March & March movement. Photo taken by SABC News Agency in Durban.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In the recent days, South Africa has been having organized groups marching from one city to another, from one township to another with a strong call on the illegal immigrants to go back to their countries.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

By Nathaniel Kagwima *<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abahambe<\/em> movement as we could call it is operated by two main groups in the Country. Namely; the March and March movement led by a lady called Jacinta Ngobese – Zuma and Operation Dudula. However, the face of this movement is made of Jacinta Ngobese – Zuma, Nkosikhona \u2018Phakel\u2019uthakati\u2019 Ndabandaba and Ngizwe Mchunu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abahambe<\/em> is a Zulu language term that can be translated as \u2018Let them leave\u2019. This in reference to the illegal immigrants in the country. This call however is not new, neither the immigration problem in South Africa and the conflict of resources between the Immigrants and the citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The immigrants vs the citizens conflict started way back in 1994. The conflicts are located mostly in townships. Eg, in 1994, the conflict between immigrants and south Africans occurred in the township of Alexandra. Further in 2008, a very strong voice against the immigrants resulted to violence. This violence which was triggered from the township of Alexandra and mutated to other parts of the country resulted to (according to official reports), 62 deaths and many more immigrants were displaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Between 2008 and 2015, several attacks on foreign businesses were reported. There were also physical attacks and killings of some Somali businessmen. Many shops were looted and a good number of foreigners displaced from their homes and businesses. In summary, there were more or less 8 killings in the year 2015 touching on a Zimbabwean, Mozambican, Bangladeshi and South Africans. There were further attacks especially in the month of October 2015. These conflicts and demonstrations continued in 2016, 2019, 2021 and now 2026 it has intensified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the elephant in the room?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1994, the South African Citizens have consistently complained of various issues regarding the immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. The immigrants are takings their jobs and hence rendering the citizens jobless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. The immigrants are taking advantage of the resources\/facilities meant for the citizens like, hospitals and schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c. The illegal immigrants are part of the high crime in the country (it becomes hard to be traced when undocumented).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d. South Africa is being overrun with illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it a perception problem or a factual problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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The Statue of Mandela overlooking the City of Pretoria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Based on the above reasons there are some facts that we are to face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. High unemployment rate in South Africa. According to the analysis done by \u2018Trade Economics\u2019 South Africa, the rate of unemployment rose to 32.7% in the first quarter of 2026 from 31.4% in the last quarter of 2025. Hence the number of unemployed people increased by 301,000 to 8.137 million. The labour force declining to 59.0% These statistics indicate a growing problem, especially among the young unemployed youths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Access to Health Care. South Africa Human Rights Commission indicates, as a reminder that Article 27 of the South African Constitution guarantees the right to healthcare services as a basic human right guaranteed by the same constitution. The Constitution and the National Health Act 61 of 2003 foresaw a single health system for South Africa. However, the commission notes that the accessibility of health services depends on social-economic wellbeing. It requires no major analysis to acknowledge that private health care facilities are preferred by economically endowed citizens while the public hospitals that are faced with various challenges are accessible to the low-income generating citizens. Hence, there is a gap between the public and private health facility based on the economic status of an individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to highlight the 2016 General Household Survey Statistics that reported that only 17 out of every 100 South Africans have medical insurance and as many as 45 million South Africans or rather, 82 out of 100 South Africans fall outside the medical aid net and as a result they depend on public health care. The number of those who depend on the public health care in added by the number of undocumented immigrants who rely on the same system to access health care services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Are the illegal immigrants widely in crime? There are several credible sources that indicate statistical facts on this matter. The Department of Correctional Services, Department of Migration and Development, Oxford University and the South African Police Services. In their data, the foreigners vs the citizens population in the incarceration is 12.4%. The Institute for Security Studies indicates that a good number of foreign nationals are law abiding relative to their total number in the country especially in areas of hard crime. It is noted that the major area of concern for majority of the undocumented immigrants is on the crime of illegality in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. South Africa being overrun by illegal immigrants. The Statistics of South Africa states that the immigrants make more or less 4% to 5% of the population in South Africa. There are many with an opinion that, due to the unregulated entry of the undocumented immigrants, it is hard to tell the exact number of immigrants in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ActionSA joined March & March in eThekwini today to take a firm stand against illegal immigration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Catholic Church response to violence against immigrants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African Bishops Conference (SACBC), in their Pastoral Statement on the 20th May 2026 stated that the bishops condemn equivocally, the acts of violence, intimidation, forced expulsion against migrants and refugees. The bishops said that such acts constitute a grave violation of human dignity and the betrayal of the valuers that should define the South African Society. The bishops highlighted that these acts of violence indicate \u201csymptoms of deeper, older failures and broken promises that can no longer be ignored\u201d. The root causes must be \u201chonestly addressed\u201d, the bishops emphasized. The bishops stressed on the fact that, for too long the cry of the poor has gone unheard. The promises of dignity, inclusion and equal opportunity remain unfulfilled for many South Africans. The result of such frustrations leads to tension between the native population and the migrants, particularly in economically disadvantaged communities, which leads to competition of scarce resources such as jobs, housing, and public services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Archdiocese of Durban<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 12th June 2026, The Justice, Peace and Development Commission of the Archdiocese of Durban organized a social cohesion meeting that included civil society organizations, migrant representatives, and faith leaders. Notably present was Jacinta Ngobese \u2013 Zuma of the \u201cMarch and March movement\u201d. This meeting was a mixture of deep reflections, contributions and at times heated debate delt with the primary question. Where is the real problem? Cardinal Napier (Emeritus Archbishop of Durban and Apostolic Administrator of Eshowe) highlighted that there ought to be respect and honest dialogue. He underlined that the narrative given about the immigrants as the sole cause of the problems of migration in South Africa is not entirely true. He insisted that the problem ought to be pointed at the government and how, through Home Affairs office undertakes its responsibility on migration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archbishop Siegfried Mandla Jwara CMM indicated that the responsibility of the Church is to bring people together, especially when the society is divided. The archbishop noted on the fact that many South Africans are frustrated due to their struggle with poverty, unemployment and poor service delivery. He however cautioned against blaming the migrants on the core failures of the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, on her side stressed that many south Africans feel excluded from economic opportunities and services. She stated that the undocumented migrants have put a lot of pressure to the South Africans, taking their jobs, competing in the areas of social services, education etc. She insisted that the Government should take responsibility and control the constant inflow of the migrants. She further said that the undocumented migrants should be ready to go back to their countries and improve their own economies and further confront their own governments for the failures that make the migrants leave their own countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting, in summary provoked all of us to reflect deeper on the core challenges of the country and to be cautious of pointing the finger to the wrong direction or to the wrong people. The challenges that the native South Africans have goes deeper to governance, economic inequality, poor migration policies and equitable and working social services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Road. Picture taken at Ficksburg- South Africa on the way to Lesotho. Photo: Nathaniel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The call of the archbishop of Cape Town<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Archbishop of Cape Town, Sithembele Sipuka has written a letter on the 28th June 2026 encouraging the Catholic faithful to take concrete steps of protection ad solidarity during this period of heightened danger. He encouraged the employees of any foreigner to prioritise the safety of their employee especially nearing the 30th June ultimatum. The catholic faithful have been asked also to care for the foreign national parishioners and they are asked to check on them to guarantee that they are safe. The Caritas office has been asked to direct additional resources. The Caritas office is already responding on the ground to the needs of displaced and vulnerable foreign nationals. The priests on their side have been asked \u2018to speak from the pulpit\u2019, so as to address this situation during Sunday Masses \u2018with clarity and charity\u2019. The archbishop added that \u2018our people need pastoral guidance, not silence and that the stranger in our midst is not a threat but a gift and the measure of our Christian life is how we treat those who are most vulnerable.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some tangible facts that cannot be negated<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. There is an uncontrolled immigration challenge in South Africa. The number of undocumented foreign nationals who entered the country is relatively in big numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. There is a very big challenge of unemployment and social-economic inequality in South Africa. This challenge brings competition of labour and resources between the native South Africans and the foreign nationals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The response of the leadership in the Government seems not to listen to cry of the people. This has made the native South Africans to \u2018take matters into their own hands\u2019 as the organisers of these movements state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. There should be deeper questions beyond the foreign nationals. Since there is a good number of native South Africans that attribute the core problems of the country to the foreign nationals, namely, matters of crime and unemployment, there are deeper questions on \u2018what is the real problem or rather who is the real problem?\u2019 Since the fall of Apartheid and the opening of a new chapter to democracy, questions must be asked on how the successive governments actually governed in areas of creation of jobs, pursuit for social and economic equality, government\u2019s fight against crime and corruption, improvement of infrastructures and social amenities etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. When the people feel that no one is listening, or that their plights do not matter to the leaders that are elected by them, frustrations become the result. What follows next is outrage and blame game. Unfortunately, at times such frustrations and blame game are pointed towards one side and the big picture of the main cause of the problem fades away. We hope that with these marches around the country, someone will wake up \u2018and smell the coffee\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Fr. Nathaniel Kagwima IMC, Delegate Superior for South Africa \u2013 Eswatini.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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