Constitutional policing, evidence-based governance and the rule of law in South Africa’s response to migration
Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) welcomes your recent affirmation that immigration enforcement is exclusively a function of the State and your public rejection of vigilantism. We write in that same constructive spirit, and with respect for the office you hold, to set out a number of concerns that we believe merit your urgent attention.
Since the beginning of 2026, South Africa has experienced a marked escalation in vigilante activity directed at foreign nationals, and at South African citizens perceived to be foreign. Human Rights Watch reported in May 2026 on new waves of xenophobic attacks; reporting since late March 2026 has linked vigilante-related violence to at least seven deaths.
On 30 June 2026
, more than 900 people were arrested during coordinated marches held in roughly 120 locations nationwide, and organisers have since sustained weekly demonstrations through July 2026.
In recent weeks, reporting has documented groups conducting unauthorised “labour inspections” – entering workplaces, closing spaza shops, and removing stock from foreign-owned businesses, including an incident in Diepkloof, Soweto on 9 July 2026. In Lephalale, individuals impersonating Home Affairs officials unlawfully ordered the removal of a trader later confirmed to be lawfully documented. These developments have drawn concern from the
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
and the
Office of the United Nations Secretary-General.
We raise these matters not to inflame public debate, but because they illustrate the practical, human cost of any gap between the law as stated and the law as enforced.
At the same time that we support lawful immigration enforcement, we call on government, and the South African Police Services (SAPS) in particular, to apply the law consistently and visibly. We ask government to base policy on verifiable evidence rather than unsupported assertions that South Africa faces “a crisis arising out of illegal immigration”, and to resist the selective use of facts in ways that facilitate the scapegoating of migrants. Evidence-based policymaking is, at its core, a matter of constitutional compliance.
We refer in particular to section 1 (the rule of law), section 9 (equality), section 10 (human dignity), section 12 (freedom and security of the person), section 33 (just administrative action) and section 205 (the objects of the police service) of the Constitution.
Immigration enforcement is a constitutional function reserved to the State. This applies equally to private individuals, organisations, political parties and self-appointed community structures. We welcome your acknowledgement that vigilante conduct is unlawful because it violates multiple constitutional rights and undermines the rule of law. In that same spirit, we would welcome clarity from your office on the operational steps SAPS is taking, and intends to take, to ensure that this understanding translates consistently into practice on the ground.
While we welcome your statement rejecting vigilantism and acknowledgment that it is unlawful because it violates multiple constitutional rights and undermines the rule of law, the question KAAX asks is: If government has always understood these activities to be unlawful, why has SAPS permitted them to continue for years until today?
Protest ends where criminal conduct begins
Section 17 of the Constitution guarantees everyone the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, demonstrate, picket and present petitions. But it does not protect criminal conduct and violence committed under the guise of protest or so-called ‘community’ action. This distinction is fundamental to the rule of law and to the proper functioning of a constitutional state. If not enforced as such, then it means that law enforcement is subject to the tyranny of vigilante forces and is manipulated in this instance by anti-migrant groupings.
Refugees outside the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban, say they fear for their safety and need government assistance for shelter. File Photo by Nokulunga Majola
The Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993 was enacted to facilitate the exercise of the constitutional right to assemble while ensuring that public gatherings occur in a manner consistent with public safety and the rights of others. Nothing in …