A Ugandan man was assaulted and stabbed to death in Durban on Thursday as anti-immigration protests turned violent. Police said it was the first murder linked to the protests.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a group was marching on Dr Pixley kaSeme Street towards Maud Mfusi Street when the attack happened.
“Two men reportedly pulled off from the group and approached a man who was on the roadside. It is further alleged that the victim was then assaulted by a group of people,” Netshiunda said.
Police in KwaZulu-Natal took in five men, aged between 19 and 46, on Friday. Netshiunda said they were picked up during protests outside the Home Affairs offices on Che Guevara Road in Umbilo.
He said the five may help police solve several cases. These include an assault on a foreign national on Wednesday and the killing on Thursday morning.
Police are also looking into an assault in Berea on Thursday morning. Netshiunda said two foreign nationals were allegedly attacked there by a group of marchers.
On the same day, protesters attacked the VFS Global Home Affairs Visa Application Centre on Linden Road in Berea.
Netshiunda said Berea SAPS were also investigating a break-in at a building near Problem Mkhize Road. He said marchers allegedly ransacked it. “Police’s efforts to identify the culprits are underway,” he said.
In the Durban CBD, 80% of shops were closed, IOL reported. Some businesses kept trading with half-open shutters while workers watched for protesters.
In a separate case, three Ethiopian men appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday. Kebede Belachew, Getachew Tirikaso and Wodaje Girma face charges of attempted murder and public violence.
Prosecutor Zakhele Nzuza said the men are accused of attacking a man who was looking for a shop to fix his phone. He said the man was beaten until he fell unconscious.
Nzuza said the attack happened while police officers were nearby, watching the protests on Dr Pixley kaSeme Street. Fourteen cars were later set alight and a dozen shops damaged in a protest on the same street.
Girma, 29, told the court in his bail application that he was attacked on that street during protests on 8 October. He described Durban as very tense.
Nzuza said Home Affairs found no record of Girma in its system. This must be checked at the next court date before bail can be decided.
The March and March Movement had told foreign nationals, mostly from neighbouring African countries, to leave South Africa by 30 September.
From 22 May, more than 400 documented refugees lived on the pavement outside the Home Affairs Durban Refugee Reception Centre. They were seeking help with their papers.
The refugees came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Mozambique and Tanzania. In September they were taken by bus to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Gauteng.
After 10 October, nineteen people allegedly involved in public violence appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court. They were released on bail of R1,500.
March and March members Wandile “Method” Nsibande, Sphelele “Magolide” Shinga and Malizo Dzanibe face charges including incitement to commit public violence.
Nsibande was on parole at the time of the alleged offences. He was sentenced to 25 years in 2009 for robbery and kidnapping, and stays under correctional supervision until 2034.
In July 2026, the government said 53,449 foreign nationals had been processed for deportation and repatriation. More than 80% of them were from Malawi.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.