Durban: Anti-migrant marches authorized from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with no weapons or masked faces

On October 31, 2026, the South African judiciary authorized the anti-immigrant movement March and March to hold demonstrations in Durban, while imposing strict conditions. According to Africanews, citing AFP, Judge Peter Olsen limited the gatherings to the time slot between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and prohibited participants from carrying weapons, covering their faces, destroying property, or setting buildings on fire.

The request came from the government: the acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, had sought a complete ban on the marches, arguing that they threaten "public order and the safety of foreign nationals," reports Africanews. In support of this, he cited police intelligence regarding an alleged plan to burn down the Department of Home Affairs' asylum seeker reception center, located in Berea, in the heart of Durban, where asylum seekers go to collect their documents.

One death and a contested toll

The decision comes after several violent episodes, including the death of a foreign national beaten by a crowd in Durban in the days leading up to the hearing, Africanews specifies. His nationality was still being verified. According to the police, at least five foreign nationals have been killed in the country this year during anti-migrant violence; some African governments suggest a higher toll, the media outlet indicates.

More than 400 police officers had already been deployed in Durban, a measure that proved incapable of curbing the violence, argued the police lawyer, for whom the situation has "degenerated" into illegality. The French version of Africanews adds that President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent more than 500 soldiers as reinforcements.

"Silencing the people," according to the movement

March and March rejects any responsibility for the violence. Its founder, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, believes that acts committed by other groups cannot be attributed to her movement without proof. Its legal representative, Xolani Zuma, denounced an attempt to "silence the people" and identified illegal immigrants as the "real problem," according to Africanews.

The police, for their part, link some of the unrest to misinformation surrounding a ruling handed down in July by the Constitutional Court, which prohibits denying an asylum seeker access to the asylum system solely on procedural grounds.

This legal standoff is taking place four days before the local elections on November 4, 2026, a vote in which the migration issue has become a central part of the campaign. The case is set to return to court next year: the restrictions decided by Judge Olsen are therefore only a temporary measure, and the safety of Africans living in South Africa remains hanging in the balance.