South Africa Deploys 510 Soldiers After Anti-Immigrant Protests

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the deployment of 510 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers to KwaZulu-Natal province until November 30, following anti-immigration protests that left one person dead, shops looted and vehicles torched in Durban.

According to a letter dated October 21 notifying Parliament, the deployment will cost R34 million and is intended to support police in maintaining law and order under Operation Prosper, an ongoing joint security operation.

Ramaphosa said the soldiers would remain “on standby for any eventualities.”

The move follows renewed unrest in early October after KZN Premier Thami Ntuli requested military assistance. During the initial violence, 14 vehicles were set alight, foreign-owned shops were looted, and police fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

Tensions escalated on October 22 when an Ugandan national was beaten to death during a protest march in central Durban. Police subsequently arrested five men, aged between 19 and 46, in connection with the murder and attempted murder of foreign nationals.

By October 11, authorities had arrested 30 people nationwide for public violence, unlawful gathering, obstruction, and related offences. Of those, 25 were arrested in KZN and five in Gauteng, where similar protests took place in Soweto.

Ramaphosa attributed the violence to misinformation surrounding a Constitutional Court judgement on asylum applications, which was misrepresented as giving undocumented migrants sweeping legal protections.

Government officials clarified that the ruling restored access to an asylum determination process for certain applicants but did not automatically grant refugee status, permanent residence, or blanket amnesty.

SANDF members have reportedly already been seen in parts of Durban. Authorities have stressed that immigration enforcement remains the responsibility of the state, warning that public anger cannot justify vigilantism, arson, looting, or attacks on people and property.