A Ugandan national was murdered after being assaulted and stabbed during anti-immigration protests in Durban, IOL reported on 24 October. Shops were looted and damaged, and many in the CBD stayed closed.
IOL reported that 80% of shops in the CBD were closed. Some businesses traded in fear, with shutters half open and workers keeping a lookout for protests.
“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,” police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said.
Netshiunda said the group was marching on Dr Pixley kaSeme Street towards Maud Mfusi Street at the time. The street was formerly known as West Street.
Police took in five men, aged between 19 and 46, as persons of interest. Netshiunda said this happened during protests outside the Home Affairs offices on Che Guevara Road in Umbilo.
He said the five could help police with several cases. These include the fatal assault and an attack on two foreign nationals by marchers in Berea.
Protesters also attacked the VFS Global Home Affairs Visa Application Centre on Linden Road in Berea, IOL reported. Netshiunda said Berea police were investigating a building near Problem Mkhize Road that was allegedly broken into and ransacked by marchers.
“Police’s efforts to identify the culprits are underway,” he said.
In a separate case, three men face charges of attempted murder and public violence. Prosecutor Zakhele Nzuza said they are accused of attacking a man who was looking for a shop to repair his phone.
Nzuza said the man was assaulted until he fell unconscious, in the presence of police officers monitoring the protests. Fourteen cars were then set alight and a dozen shops damaged during a later protest on the same street.
One of the accused, Ethiopian national Wodaje Girma, 29, told the Durban Magistrate’s Court he was attacked on that street during protests on October 8. He described Durban as very tense. Nzuza said Home Affairs found no record of Girma in its system. This must be verified at the next court appearance before a bail decision.
After October 10, nineteen people allegedly involved in public violence appeared in the same court. They were released on bail of R1,500.
March and March Movement members Wandile Nsibande, Sphelele Shinga and Malizo Dzanibe were also charged. The charges include incitement to commit public violence and public violence.
IOL reported that Nsibande was on parole at the time of the alleged offences. He was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for robbery and kidnapping. He remains under correctional supervision until 2034.
The March and March Movement had warned foreign nationals to leave South Africa by September 30. More than 400 documented refugees had been living on the pavement outside the Durban Refugee Reception Centre since May 22.
Those refugees were taken by bus to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Gauteng in September, IOL reported. Anti-immigration groups then made the reception centre their base and stopped anyone from entering.
In July 2026, the government reported that 53,449 foreign nationals had been processed for deportation and repatriation. More than 80% of them were Malawians, followed by Zimbabweans and Mozambicans.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.